Gate of Memories
by Magical Black Cat
Summary: The goa'uld Ra was chased off of Earth five-thousand years ago, so what will happen when Jack and the other members of SG-1 find a group of mysterious beings on another world who seem to be connected to that event? Has vaseshipping and mizushipping as well as hints of Jack/Sam. Rated T for paranoia, but probably K .
1. Prologue

Hello! Thank you very much for reading this. A few things to start off with. First, I am not a great writer, my sister is. Please point out if I make any mistakes (having a cat can cause some errors in transcription onto the site), but please stick to constructive criticism. If you like the story, I encourage you to review! The story so far is about 43 chapters long, and it is entirely pre-written. I will likely try to update once a week on Sunday nights. Although the story is pre-written, I might do a side-story if enough people ask for it. The story mainly has three viewpoints, although sometimes there are others. If enough people want another character's viewpoint I can always write it in a companion story. I know there are probably some small inaccuracies for Star Gate, however I have not watched all of the seasons or seen it recently. I tried to do research, though, and write everything as close to canon as possible. Some characters may seem OOC, however there is a reason for that. Please feel free to post a review if you have any questions or send a PM. I might be willing to give out spoilers for upcoming chapters to people who PM me! Thanks for reading this long author's note, and happy reading!

* * *

 **Prologue:**

The man ran down the empty street, ignoring the smoke entering his lungs from the burning buildings and the dust coating his mouth from the rest of the demolished city. He even ignored his companion, although she was struggling to keep up with him as he shoved his way through the debris littering the roads. Pieces of nearby buildings and the wall that had once protected the city littered the path, making running difficult unless one had suitable motivation. The man had that motivation and more to hurry.

As he turned the corner, he heard a roar of laughter from the giant beast that was the cause of the once grand city of Memphis crumbling into its current state of disrepair. This lent speed to his pace, although he was already going as fast as he could. His companion was energized as well, no longer struggling to keep up. The man's only thoughts were for his friend, who was even now facing what appeared to be an unstoppable foe, despite their best efforts. He was ready to sacrifice everything to ensure that his friend survived; he had nothing left to live for now. He had lost love of his life, a girl who he had finally been reunited with only to lose her moments after their reunion. Not to mention the horrifying information he had learned about his past and himself… No, the only path he could take to redeem himself was to die instead of the man… no, the boy currently in danger.

Putting on another burst of speed, the two companions rounded the final corner in time to hear the beast roar again. Unlike the smug laughter of earlier, this cry was one of deafening rage directed towards the small figure facing it. The cry was drawn out, as though the force of the creature's anger could destroy the boy in front of it. From the boy rose a burst of golden light, emerging from the small golden pyramid held by a cord in his hand. Before the newcomer's eyes, the menace that had terrorized the world for the past few days slowly shrank, continuing to disappear until it was suddenly gone. Abruptly, the darkness returned. However, this darkness was that of a normal Egyptian night, not the suffocating blackness the beast had brought with it, a darkness that had swallowed Ra's light and brought despair with it.

The man's companion spoke, softly addressing the boy in front of them.

"You did it, Prince… I can't believe you were able to defeat Zorc." Moving forward, she made as though to wrap him in a hug even as the boy turned, crimson eyes meeting the ice blue ones of the man who had run to his aid. A soft, sad smile spread across his face even as the man heard the soft chant of magic that the boy was still reciting. The man picked out the names of the Egyptian Gods being invoked, and although he couldn't tell what, something felt wrong. Suddenly, his heart which had begun to relax tightened in dread as he realized what the boy was chanting. The man moved forward, speaking for the first time.

"No, Pharaoh… You cannot…"

He received no other response than the smile, however, as the next second another burst of light blinded him once more. A voice sounded over the roaring in his ears, calling out a word that escaped his memory even as he heard it. This time, when the light cleared he did not feel relief. Lying before him was his Pharaoh. If not for the stillness of the boy's chest and the knowledge of what his king had sacrificed, the man could have believed that the boy in front of him was merely asleep. The sad smile was still present on the boy's lips, giving him a peaceful look as he lay amidst the destruction. This image was ruined only by the remains of a once fine tunic, covered in patches of blood both old and new, and the torn cloak. The shining puzzle slipped out of the lifeless fingers, hitting the ground and shattering, the glow fading as the pieces scattered over the sand.

The man bowed his head, fighting down his emotions even as his companion ran forward, falling to the ground beside the Pharaoh, already wailing in grief. Although he watched her tears stream over the lifeless body, the man himself felt empty. There was nothing left for him now… Nothing left for either of them. He stood over his king even as the first rays of Ra's light rose over the horizon.

* * *

As he watched the preparations, the man looked over the sands of his home country. Although the people would have been more than happy to follow him as Pharaoh, he couldn't bear to hear them call him by the name that his friend had once gone by, however briefly. Instead, he had made the decision to leave not only the country, but the world. When the false gods had been driven out, they had left behind their gate to the stars, and the man had every intention of forgetting the recent events by starting over on another world. He had nothing left here, and he and his companions did not truly belong to this world.

The girl who had accompanied him to rescue the Pharaoh had been joined by six others, all of whom had been brought back from the dead by the magic of the false gods, yet another device that they had left behind.

They stood in silence, many still coming to grips with the events of the past few days. Finally, one of the people uncovering the gate approached them.

"Everything is prepared for your departure, my Lord." The man nodded in response and the worker hurried away. Starting forward, he didn't even need to glance back to ensure the compliance of his companions.

Briefly, his eyes turned towards the distant Valley of the Dead. His Pharaoh had been buried in an unmarked tomb, with all the leftover devices from the false gods going to protect his resting place, as well as whatever magics the magicians could conjure. Also left inside, the golden puzzle had been placed inside a golden box over the sarcophagus of the king. A group of medjai had volunteered to protect the tomb eternally in gratitude of the sacrifice made for them.

Brushing his thoughts aside, Seto continued towards the glowing gate before he suddenly stopped. In front of him stood most of the population of Memphis, holding their belongings as they awaited his arrival. One of them, obviously the chosen speaker, nervously stepped forward.

"My Lord… We want to come with you to this new world. Our homes have been destroyed, and with much of Khemet's armies gone there's nothing to stop other countries from taking power. We'd much rather follow you across the stars than remain here."

Before the man could respond, a serene woman wearing a long robe and elaborate headdress stepped out from behind him. "Of course, you are welcome to come with us. You must understand, though, that once we are through the gate the remaining Medjai have orders to bury the gate to ensure no other 'gods' come through. This means that once you leave, there will be no opportunity to return. Do you understand this?"

The speaker nodded. "Yes, we do. After the previous king's sacrifice as well as your own, we can be sure that you would take care of us instead of an uncertain future at the hands of the Romans or Greeks."

Nodding, the woman motioned them towards the gate. "Very well, if you are certain, then. We will follow you through to ensure that none are left behind, and any who chose to return may do so until we have come through the gate."

Immediately a rush of movement started in front of the gate as families began to slowly move their belongings towards the open portal. The woman stepped back, turning towards the man. "Are you certain this is the best choice, Seto?"

Nodding, Seto turned back to watch the migration. "It's the only choice we have, Isis. Besides, by leaving this place perhaps we can escape the memories, even if only through the sands of time."

Silence reigned among the group until finally it was their turn to go through the gate; no one that had gone through had returned, and the eight were the only emigrants left. As they walked up to the gate, Seto turned briefly to cast his eyes over the land in front of him. The faces of the two people he had known, loved, and lost flashed briefly before his eyes, reminding of him of why he had to leave. Even as the sun reached its zenith, he turned to embrace his new life.

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Thank you for reading and please review!


	2. Chapter One

Hello! For those of you still reading, thank you! I would really like to thank ManekiNeko and sayu-chan93 for reviewing, as well as everyone who favorited/followed this story so far! It honestly made a difference to hear from all of you as I was a little nervous that this story was not up to par, especially compared to my sister's. Thank you very much, and please feel free to PM me if you have any questions! If there are any mistakes, please let me know... My cat has allergies and is currently in the middle of an episode so I may have missed some. Please enjoy!

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 **Chapter One:**

Colonel Jack O'Neill took his time brushing his teeth, drinking his coffee, and generally just getting ready to leave his house. SG-1 had not left Earth for the past two weeks as Major Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson were still studying the samples they had brought back from their last visit, not to mention the samples other SG teams were bringing in. Until they were sent on another mission, therefore, Jack's life was filled with the perilous trials of meetings. The major trial was attempting not to sleep through the whole thing as Daniel and Carter talked about the blah blah blah of plants, or something like that. Jack mostly tuned them out, and when he did listen there wasn't much he could add.

Glancing at the clock, he decided that he would probably have enough time to cook himself a plate of bacon and eggs before work. It was only nine, after all… the meeting didn't start until 0930.

* * *

Jack ambled through the halls, stopping to personally greet everyone he met. Personally… It was harder than it looked, Jack mused, to act as though you remembered someone's family. However, considering the time was 1012, he might just have wasted enough time to skip the meeting and go straight to the fun parts of the day. Like cleaning the lint off his uniform…

Finally arriving at the conference room, Jack pushed the door open. Conversation immediately stopped as General Hammond, Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c all looked up at him.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was a pain this morning. So, what'd I miss?" Jack asked, settling down for what should be a brief meeting. He was shocked, therefore, at the response.

Carter spoke up. "It's great that you're here, sir. We actually were waiting for you before beginning the meeting. Since you've been so late for the other meetings recently, we figured that we'd just start this meeting when you showed up."

Inwardly Jack groaned. Why did they have to catch on? Now he would have to come up with a new excuse to miss meetings, or find invisible ear plugs to sleep through them with… Now there was a thought…

"Well, let me know when we get to the interesting stuff, like our next off world trip, for instance." Jack commented, leaning back in the chair, closing his eyes, and stretching his feet out on the table in front of him.

"Sir, don't you think you might benefit by actually paying attention to the meetings?" Carter asked, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"Nope. I don't need to know about the whatcha-ma-callit of the native plants on planet so and so. If I ever do need to, you or Daniel will be there and more than happy to tell me."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Well then, Jack, you might just want to listen. We're supposed to discuss the response we received after sending our message."

Jack hmmed slightly. "So, who are we having problems with now? Our Tok'ra or Jaffa allies?"

Hammond spoke up, aiming most of his explanation at Jack. "Neither. We were able to contact an obscure group of Goa'uld on the recently explored planet PX5-9593. Our teams discovered their civilization when they were sent there to determine if the planet would make a suitable base closer to Goa'uld controlled planets. The group seems to have isolated themselves from the other Goa'uld, which would explain why we haven't heard of them until now."

Jack sat up, intrigued despite himself. "So we're going to try to get them to ally with us? Is this another one of those 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' things? I mean, come on! Even Camulus is more of an annoyance than a help."

Carter spoke up, obviously eager to share more information now that Jack was actually listening to them. "Well, they have at least agreed to meet with us and hear us out. The scouting party was able to determine that there was even a human population on the planet with them."

Jack snorted. "Great. So now we have to bring in the leaders of the Jaffa rebellion too. They're already just thrilled with the way we've handled every other situation."

"Actually, the population is human, not Jaffa." Carter commented, much to Jack's surprise. "Although they do seem to almost worship the Goa'uld in some manner, they live relatively normal lives without too much Goa'uld involvement."

Jack leaned in, "They're snakes. I highly doubt that that these people are following them because they are so warm and cuddly. When do we meet them?"

"Now." Was Hammond's response, almost causing Jack to fall out of his chair.

Carter sighed, "You would have known this, Sir, if you had paid attention and showed up on time for the other meetings this week."

"Yeah, but those were boring. I mean, even counting the ceiling tiles was more interesting than listening to you and Daniel go on and on about those plants we found on P9X-2738. There are about eighty, by the way."

Daniel, already headed for the door, stopped and turned back towards Jack. Pushing his glasses further up his nose, he began to speak in his lecturing voice which usually caused Jack to fall asleep, "Well, Jack, if you'd bothered to listen you would have heard about the amazing photo-taxis that the plants showed. I mean, they actually visibly moved in response to…."

Jack held up a hand, motioning for Daniel to stop before he could go any further. "Yeah, yeah… Whatever. They move. Big deal."

"It's not just movement, you know. What it actually is is…"

Before Daniel could resume his lecture, Jack hurriedly power walked in the direction of the Star Gate, following the rest of the military personnel running in the same direction. Inwardly, his mind was racing almost as fast as he was running. While having Goa'uld as allies might be useful, he couldn't help but feel that something was going to go wrong with these negotiations. When dealing with Goa'uld, something almost always did. It was usually a matter of finding out how bad, and if the advantage was worth it.

Jack couldn't help but wonder what exactly made these Goa'uld so different. If they wanted an alliance and weren't trying to control the world… Well, they would almost have to be Tok'ra for that to happen, and the Tok'ra kept track of each other. As they were allies, with Jacob and Selmac forming the bridge between them, Jack would have hoped that the Tok'ra would have informed their allies about a hidden colony of Tok'ra.

Glancing up, he realized that he was at the top of the stairs leading down to the gate. Pushing his anxiety aside, Jack moved down the stairs and was soon joined by the rest of his team behind the shielding.

Jack turned towards Teal'c, the one person he was likely to get a straight and honest answer from. "So… are we certain these snakes will help us?"

The tall Jaffa glanced over at him. "Their letter seemed… most promising, O'Neill. However, it is impossible to determine their true intentions until we know more about them."

Before they could say more, the familiar alarms began to blare.

Walter glanced up. "We're getting the signal we sent to the Goa'uld."

Hammond nodded. "Open the Iris. All teams stand by."

Jack watched as the iris opened, the familiar, almost bubble-like burst of whatever the Star Gate was made of appeared before the normal, clear, mirror-like surface smoothed out and settled. Taking a deep breath, Jack moved forward to greet their guests. Nothing happened. He waited…and waited…and waited. Jack shifted from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for one of the Goa'uld to come through. None did, however, and finally he began to turn towards Hammond, fully intending to ask whether they were going to have to wait here for hours. Just as he began to turn, though, he caught sight of a ripple from the gate as someone finally stepped through.

Jack whipped back towards the gate, and his eyes met a pair of ice cold blue ones belonging to the person who had walked through the gate. At first, Jack couldn't believe that the man was a Goa'uld until the eyes flashed a tell-tale gold. The man smirked down at the gathered humans, eyes flashing once again as he viewed their disarray.


	3. Chapter Two

**Wow... So many people still reading this! Thank you all very much. Once again, I would like to thank my reviewers, Bananarock509 and ManekiNeko for your reviews. Sorry to Bananarock509 for not responding to your review, but I hope that this chapter answers your question. ;) Since there are some very loyal and amazing readers who are reading this because of my sister's story, I just wanted to say two things: firstly, Cats should be updated within a week or two. Secondly, I will try to provide some background info for you on what occurs in Star Gate if it is needed. If you already know what Star Gate is about, you can just skip to the story. Enjoy! Otherwise, here is a quick handy guide for the Star Gate knowledge in the chapter.**

 **So, Goa'uld are essentially aliens from space. In the tv show they are believed to have essentially been the Egyptian Gods and built space ships shaped like the pyramids. They are essentially snake-like beings who can control humans by attaching to the spinal cord.**

 **Jaffa are the slave race created by the goa'uld. They have a pouch in their stomach to carry a symbiote(young goa'uld not able to take a host yet) and often carry out the duties that the goa'uld system lord they serve demands of them. In SG-1, Teal'c disobeys Apophis because he believes that what the system lord is doing is wrong, therefore joining the SG-1 team.**

 **Finally (I think), Sam and Jack have both at some point been taken over by a race similar to the goa'uld known as the Tok'ra. Unlike the goa'uld, the tok'ra usually only take a willing host and work together with them (Sam's father is host to a Tok'ra as they also can keep their host alive and he was dying of terminal cancer). Having been a host enables them to use some goa'uld technology.**

 **Done! Enjoy the story, and feel free to PM me if you would like a private update prior to the story so I can go into more detail. Hopefully this cuts out some of the googling! :D**

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 **Chapter Two:**

Jack stared at the Goa'uld standing before him on the ramp leading to the Star Gate. He was tall, perhaps even as tall as Teal'c with brown hair that was mostly covered with a tall hat. The man was clothed in blue and white garments that were, unsurprisingly, reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian apparel while behind him was a long, white cloak. His eyes had returned to the cold blue chips Jack had seen before, although the smirk remained. Finally, he spoke.

"Well, this was not the welcome I had expected upon my arrival. This doesn't particularly bode well for the rest of the negotiations. I do hope that the rest of our…meeting doesn't proceed this slowly. If you're as stupid as you seem I don't see any reason why we should bother to ally ourselves with such pitiful specimens of the human race."

Remembering himself, Jack managed to bite back a nasty retort as he stepped forward, stopping a few feet in front of the Goa'uld, carefully keeping himself out of arm's reach. Then he politely addressed the Goa'uld. "Yeah? Well, you could have come straight through if you'd wanted a spectacular greeting. How about you tell us what you want us to call you by, so we can all start to be good friends." Okay, Jack mentally amended. More like passive aggressive.

The Goa'uld tilted his head, amusement showing on his face similar to that of a child watching a bug under a magnifying glass before lighting it on fire.

"I highly doubt we'll ever be… 'friends'. As for my name, you are the ones who contacted us in hopes of forging an alliance. If you want my name, you'll have to show that you possess at least some intelligence between the lot of you.

Jack's jaw almost dropped. This Goa'uld was just as annoying as the rest of them, and he was trying to get under Jack's skin. Before he could say something that probably would have ruined any chances at a treaty, not to mention might have gotten him killed, a female voice spoke up.

"You could be a little more polite, Seto, at least until we've heard them out." Jack stepped back as another Goa'uld, a woman, came through the gate. She was dressed in long flowing clothes with a headdress covering her head. Inclining her head slightly toward Jack in acknowledgement of his presence, she spoke once again.

"Please excuse my companion's manners. It has been quite a while since we have had to watch what we say to those who don't know us. We have also not returned to this planet in quite some time, and the decision to return was… difficult. Let me introduce myself and my companions. I am Isis, and this is Seto. The others are Mana, Mahad, Karim, Akhenaden, Shada, and Shimon." Even as she spoke, the people she'd been introducing came through the gate. Each one, Jack noted, was also a Goa'uld.

"Well, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill and my companions are Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."

Isis's eyebrows rose as she noticed Teal'c. "A Jaffa? Interesting friends you have, Colonel O'Neill." Was all she said as she and the others moved down the ramp, guns trained on the group the entire time.

Jack shot Teal'c a pointed look before responding. "Well, seeing as how we're all set to start, how about we take you to one of our secure conference rooms. They're just as much for your protection as anything else."

Seto snorted, however before he could say anything Isis shot one of her companions, Jack believed he had been introduced as Mahad, a look and soon Seto was silently shooting death glares at him. Isis gave Jack a polite smile, "I'm certain that nothing will happen to us during our stay here, so thank you very much for your concern over our safety."

As Jack began leading the snakes through the halls, he heard the young girl, Mana, whisper, "As if we needed their protection to ensure our safety," followed by giggle.

Mahad leaned down, hissing, "Mana, behave yourself. We owe them enough to at least hear them out."

Pouting, Mana remained silent throughout the rest of the journey through the halls. Jack was left with the rather uneasy feeling that all their precautions would be useless against these Goa'uld.

When they arrived at the conference room, the group sat down. Jack sat on one side of the table alongside of the rest of SG-1 and General Hammond while Seto, Isis, Mahad, Shimon, and Akhenaden sat on the other side. The other three Goa'uld remained standing.

Silence reigned briefly before Isis spoke, addressing General Hammond. "To restate what you would like to discuss with us, you need our assistance against the other Goa'uld system lords. Seeing as how we are not involved in their internal struggles, you assume this is because we have some weapon that they fear. You are partially correct in your assumption. As we are amenable to an alliance between us, it would speed things up to proceed directly to the terms of the agreement. We have many humans living with us, all of whom are descended from those who followed us when we left Khemet many years ago. All of them are free to live how they will, but you are more than welcome to ascertain this for yourself. We are more than happy to share our…'weaponry' with you, however there is a slight catch. Our weapons can only be operated by us. This is not a matter of us not allowing you access to them, but if you were to try you would be instantly killed in a rather painful way." Looking over at Carter, she smoothly interrupted the woman's comment, "And no, even having once been a host for a Goa'uld will not enable you to handle them. Of course, we will have some requests of our own in exchange for our help."

Seto spoke, voice flat and uncompromising. "We want unlimited access to Earth. This will include leaving the compound."

Jack's eyebrows shot up, "You expect us to agree to these terms?" He demanded, "I mean, why on Earth would we give aliens free access to our planet? The rest of you want to take over the world... What if you just want access for an easy takeover?"

Carter interrupted him before he could continue, addressing Isis, "How could you tell what I was going to ask? We never told you what happened, and there are no outward signs. You've also covered the issues we were going to mention ourselves…"

"When we were… younger, the false god Ra gave us very powerful weapons. Later, we used them to drive the false gods away. One of these, the Millennium Necklace, enables me to see the future. I already know, for instance, that you will determine our demands to be worth the extra effort, just as I knew what you would ask of us. In addition, I know that you, General, are going to ask to place an outpost on our world, a request which we must deny. To do so would make our world a target for the Goa'uld, and the protection of our people is our foremost concern, even above this alliance."

Jack watched as General Hammond sat back in his chair, releasing a deep breath. "So, you can tell what we'll do before we do it. How can we tell that you aren't going to go back on your word? You could use us for as long as it suits you, and then simply foresee an opportunity in the future to get rid of us."

Isis shook her head. "The Millennium Necklace does not work exactly like that. I could foresee this meeting, as it would have occurred, however events in the distant future are less certain, more likely to change as people make decisions. The futures I can see are the most likely ones, therefore often come true, however there is individual choice which must be accounted for."

Mahad spoke for the first time since the meeting had begun. "You will simply have to trust us and trust that we will not betray you, just as we must trust that you will not reveal our location to any other Goa'uld."

Hammond thought about the response for a few minutes, ignoring Jacks 'subtle' attempts to shake his head without seeming to do so. Jack was about to start coughing 'no' when Hammond spoke.

"Very well. However, when you do leave this compound, you must not let anyone know you are from another planet, let alone another species. Also, you will be accompanied by SG-1 at all times."

Jack's jaw dropped, "But General, what about our offworld missions against the Goa'uld? Aren't those more important?" He quieted at Hammond's look, though. It said that he was going to have to live with the situation, whether he liked it or not.

Seto also opened his mouth angrily, but was interrupted by Shimon. "That sounds very reasonable. We would like to thank you for agreeing to our terms."

Hammond sighed. "I'm afraid that before we can actually agree to anything we must run the conditions by my superiors. Although they're completely uninvolved with the Star Gate program, they'll probably have a lot to say about us allowing Goa'uld access to Earth. I'll apologize in advance for whatever they might say. I'm afraid, though, that we might have to amend the terms a few times before they're finalized in a form we can all sign."

Isis nodded. "Very well. I assume that you would like access to our world at all times, and you are free to do so. In return, may we return to this base throughout this span of time as well?"

Nodding, Hammond stood. Jack followed his example, shaking hands with Isis, although slightly less enthusiastically. Soon, the Goa'uld were being shown back to the Star Gate, leaving the humans alone in the room.

Turning away from the door, Jack asked a question directed to no one in particular. "Why do I feel as though we just gained more problems than we solved?"

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Thank you for reading! Please review!


	4. Chapter Three

**Hello! Thank you for reading and reviewing. All of your reviews have been making me so happy, especially since my job is really starting to take a toll on me and I have been receiving a lot of bad news this week. So, once again, thank you! Another filler-esque chapter, but very important in terms of plot. Only one more before more action begins! Sorry for the long filler chapters, but I really wanted to take the story slowly to make sure everything made sense and that there wasn't too much rushing (it was also for NaNoWriMo for two years, so yeah...) As for the bits in Ancient Egyptian, there are translations at the bottom. They sound a little weird in English because the site I was using only had certain words translated, so it comes out a little stilted. If you want, pretend it is more proper English. :D Enjoy!**

 **SG-1 Notes:**

 **Umm... Not very many mentions of specific SG-1 things in here. About Jack's behavior, he has a soft spot for children because his son accidentally shot himself with Jack's gun. On his first off-world trip, he met a boy named Scaara who he became good friends with before Scaara was possessed by a goa'uld. Most of the first season is driven by Jack's desire to somehow rescue him.**

 **The goa'uld usually have colonies of humans who they control through shows of power, usually mass killings.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three:**

Jack squinted into the sunlight, pulling his sunglasses on. Peering out from the gate, he noted the nearby city, vast and sprawling yet filled with the sounds of laughter.

"Man… Why build a city in a desert?" he asked no one in particular.

Carter glanced up from her work as she began the task of documenting the conditions on the planet.

"Well, Sir, I would assume that if these people were originally from Ancient Egypt they would probably feel most at home in a desert city instead of, say, a jungle. If the Egyptians could thrive in low water conditions, these people must have brought some of their innovations with them. Besides; the other Goa'uld would not be as interested in controlling this planet as one rich in resources."

Jack made a small noise to show he'd heard her, turning to get a full 360 view of his surroundings. Sand, sand, and big surprise: more sand! Not a drop of water anywhere.

Well, let's go see how the people look before we fry in the sun," he commented, leading the group off towards the gates. By the time they had arrived, there was a large crowd there to greet and gawk at them.

Jack smiled at some of the younger children vying for the best spot. Motioning for the rest of the team to go on ahead, he knelt next to them.

"Hey. Never seen anyone dressed like me before, have you?"

None of the kids answered, or even looked as though they understood him. Instead one of the smaller children, a boy who reminded Jack strongly of Scarra, stepped forward and ran his hand over Jack's backpack before scurrying back to the safety of his group. Smiling, Jack held the pack out.

"See? It's a backpack. I use it to hold things." Opening up the pack, he pulled out some of the food rations he had brought along. Unwrapping one, he made a show of taking a bite and chewing before offering another of the packages out. It was soon snatched out of his hand, and the children all scrambled to open it. Staring in awe at the freeze dried food, they were soon talking amongst themselves as they tried it, mostly spitting it out. Jack nodded.

"Yeah… Tastes pretty bad, doesn't it? Trust me, it grows on you." Glancing over his shoulder, he realized that his team was waiting for him before beginning to talk to the adults who were gathered in front of them. Hastily closing his pack, he waved to the kids. Jack jogged back to his team, nodding at the people.

"So, what'd I miss?"

Daniel spoke, being the official translator of the group. "Well, apparently they are very excited to meet us, strangers from the original home of Khemet." Apparently noticing the blank look on Jack's face, Daniel clarified. "Ancient Egypt was called Khemet, meaning the land of black sands."

"Ahh. So, what can they tell us about the Goa'uld?"

" _Wy iw tw? Sy iw p_ _smsw nw_ _m-tn_ _rmt_ [1] _?_ " Daniel asked, hesitating slightly as he tried to find the right words. The man in front of him began to speak rapidly, others around him often chiming in with comments. Jack waited semi-patiently before speaking up when Daniel looked as though he was about to ask another question during a break in the conversation.

"Daniel! What did they say?" he asked slowly, enunciating the words to give them a sense of finality.

Daniel turned, blinking as though he had awoken from a stupor. Of course, Jack reflected, he probably had. He seemed to go into one whenever history was brought up. Or any information he found interesting, actually.

"Oh… Right." Pushing up his glasses, Daniel began to hurriedly explain. "Well, apparently their ancestors came here almost 5000 years ago, which is a rough translation into our time scale. They apparently followed the Goa'uld here to recolonize after their city was destroyed in a war of some sort. They seemed to be saying it was against a demon, but when I asked if it was one of the false gods they said no. Anyway, they settled here and have been protected by the Goa'uld, whom they refer to as the Priests, ever since."

"Are they free to do what they want?" Carter asked, Jack nodding to indicate his curiosity as well.

"They seem to be. I heard a lot about their trading market, and while they do give the Goa'uld a tithe of sorts, it's mostly excess food that can be spared. Honestly, the way the city is run is more similar to how it might have been run in the times of the Pharaohs than anything else. A benevolent Pharaoh, at least. Think of how much we could learn about ancient Egyptian civilization from this!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Daniel. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to study our new allies. Anything else?"

Turning, Daniel posed another question to the elected leader. " _Iw tw hw wd hr nb_ [2] _? S-htp rh pf nbt p ky te n iw wstn r iw pe hrp niwt_ [3] _."_

The man began to shake his head, and Jack didn't even need a translation to understand his emphatic no.

"Well, it seems as though we're not going to find out much more from here." Jack commented. Peering around at the group of people, he waved. "We'll just be going back now." He commented, waving his arms to try to get his point across.

Turning, he led his team back towards the Star Gate, stopping to "talk" to the natives when they moved forward. Although they were only a few feet away from the gate, it took them almost two hours to return to Earth.

Stepping down the ramp, Jack noticed that General Hammond was waiting for them.

"Hello General, Sir. Just finished a lovely mission in a desert wasteland." He commented, already pulling off his protective gear. Behind him, Daniel took up the explanation.

"We were able to meet and talk to some of the locals. While the Goa'uld have not set themselves up as gods, there is a local deity of sorts besides the regular Egyptian Gods. Although I never heard them mention a name, they all seem to worship him as a savior of sorts, comparable to a Messiah, I believe. Over all, they were all extremely content with their lifestyle and nothing seemed amiss. If we could have permission to return and talk more to the locals, I think we could make great advances in learning about Ancient Egyptian society and…"

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson. We'll see what happens after a treaty is drawn up."

Jack noticed Carter frown out of the corner of his eye as he pulled off his pack.

"But General, it's already been two months since they were here. Hasn't a treaty been agreed upon already?"

"I'm afraid not, Major. There's a lot of contention over the point about free access to Earth that's holding it up. We'll push it through, as there's nothing else we can do to protect Earth, but it'll take a little longer."

Inwardly, Jack both sighed and rejoiced at the sheer stupidity of commanders. With any luck, they might be able to find out something that proved these snakes were lying. Of course, if they didn't find anything Jack had to admit that these Goa'uld didn't seem too bad to be allied with when compared to their other Goa'uld allies. Well, except for Seto, but he could ignore him.

As he left the Gate room, Jack grabbed Daniel.

"Jack!" the man protested, "I was just about to go catalog the data we collected and begin analyzing it."

"Oh no you don't, Daniel. You're coming with me." Jack commented, beginning to drag Daniel off towards a more secluded section of the compound. "We're going to find out more about these 'Millennium Items' of theirs."

After hours of searching, Daniel finally came up with a good idea. A few hours too late, Jack thought as he rubbed his eyes. They had been searching every database they had access to for any mention of a Millennium item on any Egyptian artifacts. Their search had turned up nothing until Daniel had finally come up with the solution. They would cut a picture from their own security files of the distinctive eye that was present on each of the Millennium Items and paste that into a search.

Daniel sat back from the program. "There. Now, with all of the databases that the program will have to search through, this could take a few…"

Suddenly, a blinking red box appeared on the screen. "…hours…" Daniel finished, frowning. "That's strange. This picture was found on a Google site! That has to be coincidental…"

Jack leaned forward, peering over Daniel's shoulder at the triangular shaped object on the screen, the distinctive glint of gold and the unmistakable eye of Horus in the center saying otherwise.

"Well, either that's a very good fake, or we have one of these 'choosy weapons' here on Earth."

Daniel frowned at the picture. "I wonder how it got here?"

Jack nodded. "More importantly, I wonder if our friends know about it."

* * *

[1]How are you? What is the oldest time of your people?

[2]Are you under command at all?

[3]Please know that all the other lands we have traveled to have had controlled cities.


	5. Chapter Four

**Sorry this is late! Power outages are a nightmare... At least it is warm out! :) This is the first of two chapters. The other will be posted later tonight; consider it a Christmas present! I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four:**

Seto leaned back in his seat, raising an eyebrow as one of the humans entered the room. He hadn't bothered to learn their names; they weren't likely to do Seto any services, therefore were unimportant.

As the years had gone by, Seto supposed that all of the former priests had lost a little of their humanity. Not that any of the others would have said he had much to begin with. Either way, none of the others were particularly impressed by the changes occurring on the planet they had once called home. Seto himself was only here because Khemet was threatened, although he supposed they called it Egypt now.

He had even begun to integrate himself into the new society, focusing on a country called Japan for its ease of access. As long as he made enough money, no one asked any questions of the elusive billionaire Seto Kaiba.

Smirking because he knew it annoyed the humans, Seto waited for the next round of inane questions.

The man who seemed to be in charge of a small scion of the humans spoke up, addressing Seto specifically. "We decided to do some research after visiting your world to find out anything we could about these 'Millennium Items' of yours. If they originated on Earth, there must be some indication of their existence in the records of the time."

Seto snorted. "Hardly. We destroyed every mention of them before we left."

The human raised an eyebrow, "Well, then. You're saying there is no way that anyone on Earth could know about them?"

Before Seto could snap out a response, Isis jumped in. "To be precise, yes. There was nothing left behind that mentioned the items."

Seto shot her a glare, mentally promising to have a… talk with her later, when he was completely stunned by what one of the other humans said next.

"If that's so, then there must be a seventh item." Placing a picture of a familiar item on the table, he continued. "We were able to find a picture of this on the general internet."

Seto sat there, staring in shock at the item he had last seen in pieces so long ago in Khemet.

The first human spoke again, "We were able to find out that it apparently belongs to a fifteen year old boy named Yami Mouto who lives in Domino City Japan. He apparently won a tournament of some sort recently, but it must have been some kind of reclusive event because there are little to no pictures of him online."

Seto slowly looked up, the gears of his mind already beginning to churn. He was going to have to act as innocuous as possible to get the humans to lower their guard before he was going to be able to make his move to retrieve the puzzle. It should never have been completed, but now that it had Seto had every intention of removing it from the hands of whichever foolish human was holding it.

Shrugging, Seto spoke up, dredging the humans' names from the back of his mind. It might make it a little easier to gain their trust. "Well, Colonel O'Neill, if we knew of another Millennium Item, do you not think we would have retrieved it before leaving? Obviously this is a coincidence, if an inopportune one."

Colonel O'Neill stared at him, the suspicion that the man rarely bothered to hide showing on his face. "So, you're telling me you had no idea that a potentially devastating weapon was simply floating around Earth to end up in the hands of a kid?"

"Of course. If we had, we would have removed it, and everyone who knew about it."

Colonel O'Neill frowned, obviously disproving of Seto's proposed… solution. One that he was perfecting even now as he thought about the easiest way to get the kid to this country. He had a feeling that, for Seto Kaiba, the job would be a cinch.

If Colonel O'Neill had been suspicious before, Seto was certain his suspicions would be breaking through the roof of the compound when he saw the wide grin spreading across Seto's face. He didn't stop smiling throughout the rest of their meeting.

* * *

Seto slipped into one of the rooms that contained a computer. After spending the past few months observing the humans using them, he had mastered the fairly complex machines available to the Star Gate program. In fact, he had learned enough to be able to create the identity of Seto Kaiba as well as hack into most government systems around the world.

Soon, he was conducting a search for a 'Yami Mouto' in the Japanese government files. When the results flashed up on the screen, Seto frowned. Still no pictures, and not much more information than the human colonel had been able to tell him. Still, he was able to find out that since winning the tournament the human had been associated with Industrial Industries, a gaming company situated in America.

A wide smile spread over Seto's face as he continued reading the page. Apparently the boy was currently attending a tournament in Denver, barely an hour away from their current location. Soon, Seto was writing an email, sending it to the boy to arrange a meeting in the nearest city, Colorado Springs. When he had sent it, he smirked. All that was left now was to ensure their transport to the city mall to meet the boy.

* * *

Jack frowned at General Hammond. "They want to do what, Sir?"

Hammond sighed. "Although the treaty hasn't been fully agreed upon yet, the committee assigned to our project decided to at least show a gesture of good faith by allowing some of the Goa'uld to visit Colorado Springs when the Goa'uld requested permission to see how Earth has changed. We really have no cause to deny them a visit, either, so you and the rest of SG-1 are going to take them to see the sights."

Groaning, Jack couldn't help but ask, "What about the stuff the other teams have been gathering off world? Don't you need Carter and Daniel to look at it instead?"

General Hammond frowned over at him. "I know how much you enjoy being with the Goa'uld, Colonel, however I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. Consider this a paid vacation with additional baby-sitting duties."

Jack, realizing that he was pressing the General a little too far, saluted. "Yes, Sir!" As he turned to go, Jack caught sight of a brief flicker of expression crossing Hammond's face. Startled, he realized that the General was just as pleased with this as he was. Although it was probably a combination of having to allow dangerous aliens access to the human population and losing his best off world team, Jack couldn't help but feel grateful that Hammond shared his reservations.

Entering the office where Carter and Daniel were working, he motioned for both of them to stop before they could barrage him with information on whatever they'd discovered. "Hey, we have a new job. General Hammond and the treaty committee want us to escort some of the Goa'uld into town as a gesture of good faith. We're leaving in twenty."

Carter immediately nodded, putting down the papers she was holding. "I'll go and inform them as to this visit, as well as get a car ready."

Daniel, a little slower to put down his work, nodded. "You go get the Goa'uld who want to go. I can get the car."

Jack left them as they hastily ran towards their lockers to change into civilian clothes, heading off towards Teal'c's chambers on base. Knocking, he entered after hearing the deep voice give an affirmative.

Pushing the door open, he moved into the room. Teal'c glanced up at him from where he was kneeling on the floor.

"O'Neill." He greeted Jack, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey Teal'c. We're taking some of our allies to Colorado Springs. General Hammond's orders, so might as well hurry and get this little trip over and done with."

Teal'c nodded, standing up. "O'Neill, three months ago you asked for my opinion on these Goa'uld, and I believe I am able to give you one. From what I have seen, they do not have the mindset of many of the other system lords. Most of them do not seem to go out of their way to cause suffering, and they seem to truly care about those they protect. However, there is a touch of distance from them, as though they are removed from the feelings that you and I have. In this case, I suppose they are on their way to becoming full Goa'uld, and are merely a few steps down that path. I believe that in the future, they might indeed end up like the system lords, if they continue down their current path."

Jack raised his own eyebrow. "Wow, Teal'c… You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

"I try to, O'Neill. As much as you, I want to ensure that these new allies of ours will not harm your people."

Jack grinned, turning back towards the door. "Our people, Teal'c. After all you've done for us, we might as well give you an Earth citizenship certificate."

Teal'c inclined his head, a small smile crossing his features. "Very well, O'Neill. Our people."

The two soldiers headed for the door, a joint sense of determination in their step.

* * *

Seto peered around the mall, looking for any sign of the Millennium puzzle. Nothing. Well, apparently the human who had it in his possession had yet to arrive, but that was okay to Seto. Isis, Mahad, and Mana were the others who had chosen to leave the compound. Mana was staring around at all the green grass and trees, still able to be awed by the natural features that she had so rarely seen. Mahad was kept busy keeping an eye on his annoying student. Isis, on the other hand, was watching him closely. She obviously was expecting him to do something, but didn't know what yet. She was still certain that this alliance was the best choice, and while Seto was more than willing to defeat the false gods, at the same time he didn't want to ally himself with these weaklings.

He led the group over to the giant place labeled as the food court, where he had agreed to meet the boy, and promptly sat down in one of the seats.

"We're staying here." He stated flatly, leaving no room for complaint from one of the guardians. The humans, however, didn't have as good survival instincts.

Colonel O'Neill gritted his teeth. "You wanted to come out here to see… the city, and now all you want to do is sit in the Food Court?"

Seto shot him a look. "I can see this place very well from right here. Do you have a problem with this?"

Major Carter elbowed the Colonel. "Of course not. Whatever you want to do is fine with us."

Seto leaned back, smirking. "Sitting here will be fine with me." Turning back towards the room, he caught sight of Colonel O'Neill and the Jaffa trading looks. Making a mental note to look into that, he was about to continue scanning the room when a shadow fell over the table.

"Excuse me. Is one of you a Mr. Seto Kaiba?"


	6. Chapter Five

**Here is the second chapter as promised! Please enjoy, and if you have any questions just leave them in a review or PM me. :) Normally, if a character whose POV I am using knows a language, I will write it in English, however in this case since the POV character knows both languages, I wanted to be sure to differentiate which he was hearing/speaking in.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five:**

Yami peered around the mall's food court, looking for anyone who could possibly be the rich billionaire Seto Kaiba. No one stood out, though, and soon he was moving around the room as he tried to spy someone who looked remotely like a Seto Kaiba. Finally, as he was about to give up and go find the Industrial Illusions chauffeur to take him back to Denver, he caught sight of a group of eight people. After a few minutes of watching them he was sure that, if Seto Kaiba was here, he had to be in the group. While some were dressed in ordinary clothes there were four dressed in strange robes; most of them acted like soldiers or bodyguards, constantly looking around and standing stiff backed.

Moving toward their table, he stopped in front of it addressing the group as a whole, "Excuse me. Is one of you a Mr. Seto Kaiba?"

Immediately silence overtook the group as they all stared at him. On their faces, expressions ranging from shock, disbelief, to dawning comprehension showed plainly to one as skilled at reading expressions as Yami was.

Silence reigned before suddenly the man Yami was standing in front of spoke. "We're changing the terms of our treaty. You want our assistance, you bring him. If this kid is not there, you will get nothing from us."

Yami blinked. "Umm… Excuse me? If you're not Seto Kaiba, you might have just said so."

Turning, he started to walk away before the younger girl suddenly got in his way, staring him in the eyes and moving her face closer and closer to him until Yami was certain that she would try to kiss him. He leaned back, turning his face to the side to prevent any contact.

"Mana!" the man with straight brown hair called sharply. "Get away from him."

Yami blinked as she pulled away, noticing the man with gray hair had moved forward, hand going to his side as though reaching for something. This behavior was enough to make him more than a little uneasy about proceedings.

"Well, I had better get going then…" he managed, already turning towards the exit.

The man with short brown hair stood, "I am Seto Kaiba." He commented, receiving a glare from the gray haired man, who hastily stepped forward.

"Excuse me, …?" he trailed off, obviously asking for a name. Yami hesitated, before deciding that he was well known enough in the gaming world that giving out his name wouldn't be too bad.

"Yami Mouto." He said, slightly tersely. The man nodded.

"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States air force. We have a slight problem, you see. Do you know what the object around your neck can do, Yami?"

Yami glanced down at the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck, one hand protectively curling around the bottom. Images of the events in Duelist Kingdom flashed through his mind as he eyed the group in front of him even more suspiciously than before.

"It's a puzzle that my grandfather gave to me. A memento of sorts from his time in Egypt. Why?"

Colonel O'Neill glanced at his companions before turning back towards Yami. "Would you be willing to come with us to the air base? We think that the artifact around your neck might be more valuable then you probably know."

Suddenly, a phone went off. Excusing herself, the blond-haired woman hurried off to answer it. Yami watched her talk on the phone, nodding and asking a few questions before finally hanging up and returning to the group.

Turning towards Colonel O'Neill, she related her conversation. "General Hammond called. The treaty is drawn up and ready for all of us to sign… I told him what came up and he wants us to bring Yami with us back to base to discuss what to do."

Colonel O'Neill nodded, returning his gaze to Yami. "Look, Yami. This is a matter of…world security. Would you please consent to come with us? I can assure you that no harm will come to you, and as soon as we possibly can we will take you back to wherever you came from personally. " He pulled an ID badge out from a pocket, holding it out and giving Yami plenty of time to look it over.

Yami mulled over their offer. On one hand, going with absolute strangers was breaking the first rule of child safety. On the other, he was intrigued. What could he possibly have to do with 'world security'? Finally, he made up his mind.

"Very well, I'll go with you. However, I'll have to let Croquet know where I'm going as well as my grandfather."

Colonel O'Neill nodded. "Great. Let's start getting ready to leave, then."

Yami nodded, leading them over to the limo he had been brought to Colorado Springs in, although he had argued fiercely against it. After he had informed the chauffeur of the change in plans, he moved to the side and pulled out his phone. Dialing the Kame Game Shop, he waited as the phone rang. Finally, a click told him someone had picked up the other end.

"Moshimoshi? Kore wa Kame gameshopdesu. Watashi wa dono yō ni anata o tasukeru koto ga dekiru?"[1]

"Yugi?" Yami asked, speaking English. "Can you get Grandpa for me? It's important."

There were a few moments of silence on the phone before Yugi responded, his English slightly more stilted than Yami's. "He is not here. I think he just left for the store. Is something wrong?"

"No, not particularly. I've been invited to another competition, possibly similar to Duelist Kingdom. Could you tell Grandpa that I'll be here for a little bit longer than anticipated?"

Hesitating, Yami decided to risk one more statement of his unease at the current situation. From the intake of breath, Yugi had caught on to his mention of Duelist Kingdom and put two and two together. Now, all Yami needed to do was find a way to tell him how serious the situation was without Yugi immediately going to the police. Glancing over at the Americans once again, he decided to risk speaking Japanese.

"Anata wa ashita no yoru de watashi kara kiite inai baai Yūgi wa, Nihon taishikan ni renraku shite kudasai. Arigatō[2] . Bye, and I'll see you when I get home."

Yami closed his phone, turning towards Colonel O'Neill. "I'm prepared to go with you, Colonel. Thank you for allowing me to inform my Grandfather as to my whereabouts."

The colonel nodded, motioning for Yami to follow him.

"Where we're going to be taking you is a top secret military installation known as Cheyenne Mountain. We're going to have to get you to sign a statement of nondisclosure to even let you into the building."

Yami frowned, thinking the statement over. "And if you tell me what goes on in the facility that you need me for?" The silent looks that greeted his question were more than enough of an answer.

Yami silently got into the van as Colonel O'Neill held the door open for him. He sat in the back row, next to the window as the rest of the group got in. Noticeably, the woman who introduced herself as Major Samantha Carter sat next to him along with Teal'c. Yami turned back towards the window as the van was started and they began to drive down the road.

* * *

Jack peered into the rearview mirror at the teen sitting in the back seat. Yami was staring out the window, apparently ignoring the other passengers in the vehicle. Of course, Jack supposed that he could be suffering jet lag from the trip over. The kid was from Japan, after all…

As he paused at a stoplight, he leaned towards Daniel in the seat next to him.

"Daniel, please tell me you can speak Japanese. I want to know what the kid told the person over the phone."

Daniel also leaned in as Jack pulled forward. "I could be wrong, as my Japanese is a little rusty, however I think he told the person on the other end of the line to call the Japanese Embassy if they don't hear from him by tomorrow night. Judging by the name, I believe that the boy is Yugi Mouto."

Jack whistled under his breath, "Well. The kid's smarter than we gave him credit for."

Daniel slowly nodded, glancing over his shoulder at where the Goa'uld were also whispering amongst themselves. "Looks like we might have a problem. The kid's a minor, not to mention obviously fairly well-known. If our new allies want him this badly, they might be willing to kidnap him through the Star Gate. We don't stand a chance against them if their weapons are so advanced."

Jack remained silent as Daniel returned to his seat. That was the problem, wasn't it? What the Goa'uld wanted with this kid. Normally, Jack would say they were almost fascinated by him, but he had seen their behavior at the base, not to mention the maneuvering Seto had done to bring them out here. If they wanted the kid because of his Millennium Item, then they might be seriously considering silencing the kid to ensure that word of the items never reached any other ears.

Mentally sighing, Jack made a note to keep a close guard on the kid. The boy wasn't to leave the sight of any military personnel until he could be dropped off in the airport and flown back to Japan.

* * *

[1]Hello? This is the Kame Gameshop. How can I help you?

[2]Yugi, if you don't hear from me by tomorrow night, call the Japanese Embassy. Thank you.


	7. Chapter Six

**Hello! Yeah... I have no excuse this time. :D Sorry! Next week should go back to normal. So please enjoy, and I don't think there is very much that needs to be described so go on ahead and enjoy! Also, thank you to the readers who review every week. Here you go!**

* * *

 **Chapter Six:**

Seto stared at the boy through the glass, studying him in an attempt to decide what his motives were. The boy was sitting at the table, carefully studying the room. To the casual observer, he might seem merely intrigued by the new location, however Seto could see him carefully analyzing everything in the room. Strategizing…

He was abruptly brought back to where he was when Mana spoke. "Do you think it's him?" she asked.

"Only the ba is reborn, Mana. His ka would be in the afterlife now," was Mahad's quiet response.

Seto mentally snorted. He doubted that, seeing as how the spell was designed to use one's ka as part of the seal. Seto had spent most of the weeks before they had left Khemet researching the spell and its effects. Therefore, as much as Mana and, deep down, he himself might wish for this to be their long lost friend, it was nigh on impossible.

Shimon spoke up, "Still, I cannot believe it a mere coincidence that the Millennium Puzzle is in his possession. The chances are almost astronomical for such an occurrence."

Seto mentally thanked himself for ordering Mahad to cast the silencing spell over the listening devices in the room as well as an illusion spell over them so it would not seem as though they were talking. If the humans were to overhear the conversation currently going on, they would certainly try to pry. Seto, for one, wanted the events of the past to remain there; why think about what you couldn't change? The spell also allowed them all to talk in their native language. Isis had come up with the stupid rule that they all would speak only English while in the compound. After they had received the first letter asking for their cooperation, all of the Guardians had made an effort to learn the language.

Seto had only done so because it would give him the advantage, much the same reason why he had bothered to learn Japanese. While most of them had made enough progress according to Isis to speak during their initial visit, only Karim and Shada had been busy enough with judging claims by their citizens to not learn much beyond the basics.

Learning the language certainly had its advantages, though. Seto knew, for instance, that the boy in the other room didn't entirely trust them. Not that it mattered, but he couldn't help but wonder at the fact. This boy was so similar to the Pharaoh in almost every other way except for this. The friend he had once known had trusted to the point where he had gotten into trouble with every turn. This boy seemed more wary of trusting strangers, indicating that he had possibly recently run into some form of trouble…

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Seto returned to staring through the window. He wouldn't let sentimentality get in his way. If this person had found out about the Millennium Items and the Pharaoh, he could be attempting to manipulate them.

Seto was pulled out of his dark thoughts when suddenly the door was opened and one of the guards outside the door poked his head in.

"Colonel O'Neill requests you in the conference room, now." He said, pointing at Seto before pulling back out of the room. Smirking, Seto moved towards the door. Finally. Time for some answers…

* * *

Yami glanced towards the door, noting Colonel O'Neill and Seto Kaiba's entrance before going back to watching the glass in front of him. Although it looked almost mirror-like, Yami was certain that it was likely a two-way mirror of some sort, like those on TV. When the colonel and his companion had either seated themselves or made it evident that they were not going to, he spoke.

"So, are you going to explain why you pretended to be a Japanese billionaire in order to get me to come here?"

Colonel O'Neill sighed even as the other man spoke. "I am Seto Kaiba. Or at least, he's an identity I created."

"However, we would like to know a little more about you before telling you everything. Can you tell us about yourself? You know… your family, where you go to school… what kind of tournament you won recently. Anything." Colonial O'Neill pressed.

Yami blinked, frowning. This wasn't how he'd thought the meeting would go. Deciding to answer these questions at least, he spoke up, eyes moving from Seto Kaiba and Colonel O'Neill to judge their reactions.

"Well, as you already know my name is Yami Mouto. I was born in Egypt and was adopted by Solomon Mouto when I was five. I go to Domino High with my adopted brother, Yugi. As for the tournament, it was a duel monsters tournament."

Yami watched for the reactions of the men in front of him. Colonel O'Neill looked first thoughtful, then surprised. Seto Kaiba, on the other hand, watched Yami with the best poker face he had ever seen. Until he figured out Seto's tells, Yami doubted he could accurately determine what he was thinking. This conclusion unnerved him, and he shifted uneasily before he hastily stilled himself, taking a deep breath to bring up his own poker face. Two could play at that game.

Colonel O'Neill nodded sagely. "All right. So… What happened at Duelist Kingdom? That another 'duel monsters' competition? Sounded like a big deal."

Yami felt himself beginning to stiffen again and hastily forced himself to relax. "Yeah. It was a pretty big deal. That competition is what introduced me to competing against other players from around the world. Before that, I'd only played Duel Monsters with my friends and Grandpa."

Although Colonel O'Neill seemed fooled by his act, Seto was watching him with an eagle eye that said he had an idea that the game wasn't as innocent as Yami was making it seem. Before he could possibly say anything, though, another man entered the room and nodded to the other two members. Seating himself in front of Yami, he leaned forward as he began to speak.

"Mr. Mouto, my name is General Hammond and I am in charge of this facility. We just received permission to vet you into the program, seeing as how your presence is apparently a term of the treaty we are trying to forge with Seto and his comrades. So, I'm here to explain everything to you as the commander of this base. Although much of it will seem surreal, I can assure you that the threat is very real."

Yami slowly nodded. The man had a look on his face that showed how serious he was, even though Yami couldn't see what could be this bad.

"Can I ask why you need to forge an alliance with a CEO and his friends?"

Seto Kaiba snorted. "Friends?" he asked, almost seeming bemused that his companions had been described in such a manner.

General Hammond nodded. "It's a fair question. By the end of my explanation, you should understand. You see, we run a program called the Star Gate Program…."

Yami listened as the General went on to describe the interplanetary travel, the Goa'uld system lords who were trying to destroy Earth, and the Goa'uld present in the base who would help in the fight against them. By the end of his explanation, Yami couldn't decide if he was telling the truth of one of the best poker players he had ever seen. Looking between the men in front of him, he let his disbelief show.

"You're trying to tell me that there is an alien race dead set on destroying the Earth, and no one knows about it?"

Colonel O'Neill nodded. "Yep."

General Hammond cut in, "Could you imagine the panic that would be unleashed if everyone knew of the threat, and how ill-prepared we are to fight against it? There would be riots in the streets and mass hysteria. Better that we deal with things before the general populace finds out. After we've won, they can all judge us for our actions, and if we don't then none of us will be left to court martial anyway."

Yami nodded, thinking over what he had been told. Everything made sense, except for one thing. "So why exactly do you need me?" he asked, looking from one man to the next. "I mean, I play games and go to school. I didn't even know about any of this until now, so what help could I possibly be?"

"There's the question I was waiting for." Colonel O'Neill commented. "We'll tell you what we can, but then he'll have to take over." He commented, gesturing towards Seto Kaiba.

"So we're in the process of forging a treaty with Seto and the rest of his comrades because they are Goa'uld who don't seem to be bothered by the other system lords. From what I understand, the main reason is that they have these things called Millennium Items which are extremely powerful, and can do things like allow their owners to see into the future, stuff like that. Well, they saw that you had a Millennium Item as well and apparently decided to change the original terms of the agreement to include your presence."

General Hammond leaned forward, a look of genuine concern flashing across his face. "Look, son. This job is extremely dangerous, and by staying here you could easily get killed yourself. It is not a game, however much fun traveling from planet to planet may seem. Before deciding, think about your own safety."

Yami didn't respond immediately, instead, glancing down at the Millennium Puzzle. He knew that the puzzle was special, could do things that normal objects shouldn't be able to do, but a weapon of mass destruction like the General was talking about? He looked up, crimson eyes meeting ice blue ones.

"Why exactly did you decide to make my presence a part of the bargain? Why not just demand the Millennium Puzzle?" he asked, knowing that this answer would decide his.

Seto scoffed. "If you weren't here with the puzzle, we'd have to kill you to prevent word of its existence from spreading. Considering our new 'allies' don't seem too keen on the idea it would be easier for you to remain here where we can keep an eye on you."

Yami stared at Seto, looking for any signs as to his feelings on the matter. Finally, going on gut instinct more than what he could read from that man's body language, he sat back.

"Very well, I will remain here."

Colonel O'Neill leaned back and General Hammond let out a small breath that he had been holding, and Yami almost felt bad to have to continue.

"However, there are some conditions of my own." Seto smirked, obviously relishing the discomfort of the two military personnel. "I do not want to be treated like a hostage or a prisoner. If I stay here, I want to be able to leave when I choose, as well as visit my family every once in a while. You can send someone with me to ensure I don't try to run off, but they have to be non-intrusive. I also want to travel with SG-1 through the Star Gate. I want to be able to see for myself these other worlds. Those are my conditions for me staying here, and while I understand that you are concerned for my safety I can't just sit around here doing nothing." Yami smiled, feeling a surge of excitement.

When he finished, there was silence before the woman from earlier, Major Carter, burst into the room. "Excuse the intrusion, Sir, but we can't just let a fifteen year old kid through the Star Gate! We would be deliberately placing him in danger!"

Colonel O'Neill also voiced his opinion. "Absolutely not! We can't just babysit you while we're on an important mission."

Yami turned, eyes meeting Seto's as the man stared at him, silently weighing what had been said. Yami refused to look away, meeting Seto's eyes until the man finally looked towards the others with a bored expression on.

"You might as well let him. If you don't he either won't stay or he'll suggest something more outrageous to make you agree to this demand."

Yami's eyebrows shot up. Actually… that was exactly his intention. Although he didn't think he could bring himself to leave and put millions of people in danger, at the same time he didn't want to merely sit here and twiddle his thumbs.

General Hammond finally sighed, interrupting the arguments that Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill were still making. "Very well, Yami. However, you'll be required to stay with Doctor Jackson during missions. You are both civilians, therefore are non-combat groups. We intend to see you safely returned to your family as soon as possible so I expect you to obey all orders given to you when you go through the Star Gate."

Yami nodded, spirits lifting as he realized he was actually going to be able to see another world. If only he could tell Yugi about this! He vocalized his acceptance, hastening to reassure General Hammond of his compliance.

"So long as the orders pertain to my safety, I will do my best to follow them."

Although he didn't say anything, Yami saw Seto roll his eyes. Apparently he had caught Yami's twist of words, although he didn't mention the loophole to the others. Hammond nodded, standing.

"I'm glad we could come sort this out" he began, before Yami interrupted him. Turning towards Seto, Yami began to speak, meeting Seto's eyes.

"That's not all I have. Before I agree to stay, I want your promise that you will assist the SG program against the system lords. Even if you decide that my presence is no longer necessary to the treaty and I leave, I also want your promise to abide by the current terms and make no attempt to change them."

Seto Kaiba returned his look, staring at him so seriously that Yami was tempted to look away. He continued to meet Seto's eyes, though, as he grew more and more determined to ensure the survival of the treaty after he left. Finally, Seto Kaiba spoke.

"Very well. The terms are set, and we will help until our assistance is no longer necessary." Yami frowned, catching the possible loophole.

"When your assistance is no longer needed as decided by General Hammond." Yami clarified. After a small hesitation, Seto Kaiba glared at him before nodding.

"As decided by 'General Hammond' then." Satisfied, Yami turned towards Colonel O'Neill.

"May I please speak more to Doctor Jackson? If I am to be his 'ward' of sorts, I would like to know more about him."

Colonel O'Neill nodded, a small smile crossing his face. "All right. Follow me; Daniel's in the other room."

Together, they left along with Seto Kaiba. However, where he turned right they turned left and soon were entering a small room where Teal'c and Doctor Jackson were sitting at a table, obviously discussing the negotiations in the other room. Major Carter slipped in behind them, heading towards Teal'c even as Doctor Jackson stood to greet them.

"It is great to see you again, Yami. You do go by Yami, correct?"

Yami smiled, nodding. "Yes, Doctor Jackson."

Doctor Jackson held out a hand and Yami grasped it, the two shaking hands. "Daniel, please. Doctor Jackson makes me feel old."

Yami's grin widened, and he felt himself warm up to Doctor… no Daniel a little bit more. Perhaps being stuck with someone wouldn't be so bad.

"Could you maybe show me around? I would like to be able to get around the base on my own. Also, do you know where I'll be staying?"

Daniel nodded. "I can definitely show you around." He commented even as Major Carter led Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c out the door, apparently deep in conversation. "Your chambers will be next to Teal'c's, and there will be a guard on the doors when you are present. For your protection in case there's a security breach."

Yami nodded. "I understand. Thank you very much, Daniel." Inwardly, he relaxed. Whatever might happen, he had at least one friend here. Besides… he wasn't certain as to Seto Kaiba's intentions with regard to him. Until he knew more about the man, he was going to accept any protection offered to him. Yami had to admit to himself that he also wanted to know more about his puzzle.

Daniel started for the door, motioning for Yami to follow him. "All right then, let's give you the grand tour!"


	8. Chapter Seven

**Yeah... Well, getting better about posting on Sundays again! :D I hope everyone enjoys this. Before I leave you to reading/write the information on Star Gate, I just wanted to mention that I have a slight problem. You see, I love the Japanese version of the anime, but I watch both that and the English versions a lot, so sometimes I forget whether I use 3000 or 5000 years... I am trying to use 5000 in here so that the Egyptians have at least some culture that can be called their own, but... yeah... If you catch me saying 3000, please point it out so I can fix it. :D Thanks! Please Enjoy!**

 **Notes:**

 **In Star Gate, an Ascended being is essentially a person with almost unlimited power, however they are constrained by their own laws. Anubis is half-ascended, so he has a lot of power for a goa'uld and is essentially invincible because of that. Another Ascended, Oma, helped Daniel to ascend after he died. He later "descended", but has some knowledge of her and the others. The majority of the ascended were originally a race known as the Ancients, who had a lot of sophisticated technology.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven:**

Daniel led Yami around the underground facility, pointing out various rooms and informing him as to the various events that had occurred in each. The plants that had grown out of control, the original unsuccessful plot to destroy Anubis, and the room where Daniel himself had ascended. The most time was spent in Daniel's office, where he showed Yami all of his research. It was, Yami reflected, a good thing that he was already interested in Ancient Egypt otherwise it might have driven him mad.

Daniel's office was full of papers and sketches, not to mention various samples that Daniel told him came from various Goa'uld occupied worlds. The artifacts were fascinating, and Yami was soon wandering around the room, only half listening as Daniel talked.

He finally arrived in front of a board covered in hieroglyphics. Standing and staring at the symbols, Yami was hit first by a strong feeling of deja-vu, one that almost made him fall to his knees, and then a wave of dizziness. Putting a hand to his head as surreptitiously as possible, he leaned on a chair propped nearby. While a part of him was glad for Daniel's inattention, the waves of dizziness made it almost impossible to think beyond that.

A voice suddenly sounded from the door, interrupting Daniel mid-speech. "Oy, Daniel. You're probably boring the poor kid to death. Have you even shown him the Star Gate yet?"

Daniel blinked, suddenly drawn out of his lecture. Glancing at the clock, he apparently realized he had been talking for over an hour. "Oh… right. Sorry, Yami."

"It's no problem, Daniel. Your work both on Egyptian history and alien artifacts is really interesting, although perhaps next time you could explain what an 'Ancient' is?" Yami commented, smiling over at Daniel as he straightened, trying to appear relaxed and unconcerned. As he followed Daniel and Colonel O'Neill out of the room, his dizziness slowly faded away until he was fine, except for the memory of what had happened.

"Daniel, Colonel O'Neill, how do you know so much about those artifacts? Aren't these 'Ancients' dead?"

Daniel nodded and Colonel O'Neill spoke. "Hey, since we're going to be on the same team and all, you might as well call me Jack. Military protocol doesn't really matter too much out in the field. Hate being in the army, anyway."

Daniel snorted. "Can I quote you next time you tell us that there should be something designating you as a Colonel on your uniform?"

Jack glared at him. "That's not what I meant."

Yami laughed, enjoying the friendship the two obviously shared. "Very well then, Jack. But about the Ancients?"

Daniel spoke up, "They didn't actually die, per se. Instead they ascended to a higher state of being and decided to no longer interfere with human affairs. Some still do, but they are limited to helping us ascend."

Yami frowned faintly in confusion. "You mentioned that term once before… ascending. What is that?"

"I suppose the closest connection would be to an angel, or a god who knows all and can harness vast powers… However, due to their dislike of meddling I believe that we can safely say that they aren't like the Goa'uld. They're more like… parents who are watching their children grow up, but allowing us to live our own lives instead of governing them."

Jack cut in, "You really just have to have a certain mind frame, die, and then bam. You're a supercharged being with the firepower of a million nuclear bombs."

Before Yami could ask if this meant that Daniel had died before, they turned the corner and started down a flight of stairs blocked by a large, thick door. Jack had to turn around instead of walking backwards in front of them, and the conversation temporarily ceased.

They slowly went down the stairs after Jack had explained that Yami was allowed to see the Star Gate, and yes they could contact General Hammond for authorization, etc… When they reached the bottom, Jack told Yami to close his eyes. Through the blackness of his eyelids, Yami heard Jack call out to someone before someone took his hand and led him forward, positioning him.

"All right, Yami. You can open your eyes…now." Jack told him, and Yami immediately did so.

He was greeted by the sight of a huge, circular metal loop inscribed with strange symbols. However, the most amazing part was the blue, liquid-like substance that filled the gate. Yami slowly moved forward, listening to Daniel's explanation.

"As far as we can tell, the Star Gate was found by the Goa'uld Ra in Ancient Egypt, where he remained until approximately five thousand years ago. When he was driven out by the Egyptian populace, he was forced to leave the Star Gate behind and it was recovered in 1928. The only way to prevent an invasion was to block the portal of the gate. Now, we have a metal iris that functions like the bedrock it was buried in. Anything that tries to come through will be crushed when they hit this side of the wormhole. It works through an event horizon…"

Yami reached forward, putting his hand through the gate and staring at his shortened arm. While he could still feel his fingers, they were on another world… The concept was mind-boggling. Jack moved up next to him, quietly speaking so as not to disturb Daniel.

"A lot of people have the same reaction. Mind you, they usually don't try it out with their own limbs."

Yami grinned, whispering back, "Well, I figured if you can walk through it, it should be safe enough to put my arm through. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to go through without something happening. Plus, if the risk of invasion is so great I doubt you opened up a portal to an occupied world."

Pulling his arm back out, Yami heard Jack laugh softly. "Is Duel Monsters a strategy game?" Jack asked, seeming honestly curious.

"Oh, definitely." Yami assured him, tuning back into Daniel's speech, although he had the feeling that he would need to be an astrophysicist instead of a gamer before he would likely come close to understanding.

* * *

Seto frowned over at the door to his room, mentally frying the guards standing at attention outside the door. 'For his own protection', he had been told, however he highly doubted that. More likely they were there to protect the kid… which might be a good idea on their part if he wasn't capable of leaving his room whenever he wanted to without being seen.

Not that he was going to leave at the moment. Ever since the boy, Yami Seto grudgingly admitted mentally, had arrived Seto had felt the stirrings of magic that had been sealed with his Pharaoh's death. Shadow magic, which had disappeared when the Millennium Puzzle had shattered (or when the seal had taken effect, Seto was never certain as to which), was back. Although their allies would never gain knowledge of this unless Seto told them, he wondered what they would do if the objects they already considered "super weapons" were now even more powerful.

Until he had discovered exactly how this boy had caused the return of shadow magic, Seto wasn't going to get rid of him. Quite the contrary… Suddenly, he sat up straight, staring at the door with an intense look. Although he had been alive long enough to manage to keep a straight face, inside he was shaken.

For a second he could have sworn that he saw sunlight glinting off white hair. But it couldn't be… She had been dead for so long.

The door opened, admitting Mahad, Isis, and Akhenaden into the room. Closing the door, they moved to sit opposite of Seto even as he inwardly composed himself. Although he had been expecting them to come for a private conversation, Seto was annoyed at their timing. And yet, at the same time he could have hugged them for it…

"What do you think then, Seto? About a boy who looks so much like the Pharaoh holding his item?" Isis asked, immediately getting to the point.

Seto shrugged. "What am I supposed to think? That he's our Pharaoh reborn, or a look alike? I highly doubt it's either a coincidence or our Pharaoh. Until we know more, however, we can't move against him."

Mahad looked up at that from where he had been apparently fascinated with his clasped hands. "I don't think that he bears us any ill will…"

"Of course you would say that." Seto commented nastily, retaliating harsher than he might have otherwise due to the remnants of shock still coursing through him. "You believed our Pharaoh did the right thing by deciding to commit suicide. Oh, that's right, you're probably proud of him for following in your footsteps."

Mahad looked away, face reddening with embarrassment and traces of anger. However, he did not respond and Seto turned back towards Isis.

"As for the boy, I think there is nothing we need talk about; when we know more, we can decide on a course of action."

Akhenaden nodded, staring at Seto although the man ignored him. "I agree. Until we know more perhaps we should reconvene this meeting at another time."

Without another word, Mahad stood up and left, robes swishing as he hurried out into the hall. Seto watched him go before turning away from the others, ignoring Isis's goodbye as she rushed after Mahad and Akhenaden's attempts at conversation until the man finally gave up and left. Especially after thinking about her again for the first time since five thousand years ago, he couldn't bring himself to look at Akhenaden without doing something he might one day regret… he hadn't regretted the thoughts of doing it yet though.

Oh no he hadn't… His thoughts turned inwards, not noticing the pale girl watching him from the corner of the room, blue eyes filled with tears.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Hi! Another update! This one required a lot more editing than the others so far, so sorry for a late update! That being said, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. The first off-world trip, even if it is not through the Star Gate!**

 **Just wanted to clarify: I can see Yami believing in the Egyptian Gods. He knows he was adopted and brought to Japan from Egypt, therefore would likely be interested in Egyptian history already. Not to mention the fact that Egyptian mythology is really cool! :D So I feel like he might be influenced enough to believe in it. If you would like to hear more of my reasons for this choice, feel free to PM me. I love to talk about why I did things, although I might not answer questions if I feel they will be answered later in the fic.**

 **Also, to answer a question which have been cropping up: yes, Yami is Yugi's adopted brother. In this fic they are not connected through the puzzle (as in Yami was a spirit and gained his own body). Now, that being said, you can read this however you choose. They can be similar due to coincidence, or Yami could be the ka reborn while Yugi is the ba. Either one works, and honestly I would like for people to interpret it how they will. just wanted to clarify the separation issue.**

 **Thank you for putting up with me, and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight:**

 _The young boy ran through the stone halls, laughter ringing around him. He turned a corner, pushing himself up against the wall and giggling as he heard the sounds of pursuit._ _Soon, a tall man with a graying beard and long, flowing purple robes came around the corner, looking everywhere in an exaggerated manner._

 _"_ _My son, where could you possibly be hiding?_ _Let's see… Could you be on the ceiling?"_ _T he man peered up at the top of the corridor, searching the stone bricks before shaking his head._ _"_ _No?_ _Well then, how about in these cracks?_ _I know you must be there!"_

 _Giggling as his father searched the cracks, the boy finally moved forwards, laughing as he wrapped his arms around the man._

 _"_ _Here I am, Father!_ _I was in front of you the whole time and you missed me!"_

 _Drawing back from the hug, the man looked his son up and down._ _"_ _My goodness, how in the name of Ra could I have missed you?_ _You're growing up so fast…"_ _The boy smiled up at his father, oblivious to the hint of sadness in the man's features._ _Before he could respond, though, another figure rounded the corner._

 _Immediately, the child shrank back behind his father in fear._ _The falcon's mask seemed to be staring straight at him, although when the figure spoke he addressed the boy's father._

 _"_ _Lord Ra requires your presence, human._ _He would like you to go over the resources being diverted to the Gods, as he feels not enough is being sacrificed."_

 _Although he couldn't see his father's expression, the boy felt him stiffen._

 _"_ _Of course._ _Please inform Lord Ra that I will be there immediately."_

 _The hawk-headed man nodded, turning and marching back around the corner._ _When he was gone, the man knelt down in front of his son._

 _"_ _Don't cry, my son._ _I promise, nothing will harm you so long as I have breath in my body._ _There's no need to cry…"_

Yami woke up with a gasp, sitting upright. Eyes wide, he sat there until he had calmed down before glancing over at the clock. To his surprise, he was unable to see the numbers through the tears in his eyes. Wiping them away, Yami wondered where such a vivid dream had come from. When his eyes were clear, he glanced back at the clock to find that it was four in the morning. Lying back down, he tried to go back to sleep. However, between his excitement about his first trip to another planet and the emotions from the dream still weighing heavily on him, Yami lay awake for hours staring at the ceiling as he tried to figure out why seeing that man would make him so nostalgic…

* * *

Jack moved through the halls, giddy with excitement. They were finally going to be allowed off world, even if it was only to Thor's ship. They were to introduce their long-time friend to their new allies, and although he was certain things wouldn't go smoothly he was still glad to see his Asgard friend.

Turning the corner, he knocked on the door of the room Yami had been given to sleep in while on base.

"Hey, Yami? You up?" he asked, ready to wait for the boy to frantically pull his clothes on. Much to his surprise, however, Yami opened the door almost as soon as he'd finished, dressed and ready to go.

"Wow… You're ready…" Looking closer, he realized that Yami looked slightly tired. "Nervous? Don't worry. We're not going through the Star Gate yet, so it won't be that bad."

Yami nodded. "I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I guess it must be nerves. Didn't General Hammond say I had to go through extensive training before going off-world?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, but we'll be going to Thor's starship. There's no place safer, and it will give you a taste of what traveling off-world is like. Trust me… there's nothing like it."

Yami nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable as he followed Jack through the halls. Probably still worried about the journey, Jack figured. The first time going off-world was always the worst, even if it wasn't the Star Gate, as Daniel had tried to explain to the kid the previous day. Well, hopefully the excitement of meeting their first alien ally would be enough to rid the kid of any nervousness.

They rounded the corner, entering the debriefing room to find everyone already there. One of the Goa'uld, Mana, was yawning widely as she sat at the table while the rest were politely sitting up straight. Jack led Yami far around them, seating him on the opposite side and plopping down next to him.

General Hammond looked around the room, satisfying himself that all were present before beginning. "All right. Today's mission is going to be fairly routine compared to some of the others SG-1 has been on in order to get you used to traveling with them, Yami. There should be no chance for you to get into danger, however if you do stick with Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill. As for you," he commented, turning towards the Goa'uld, "we're going to be introducing you to one of our strongest allies. We'd greatly appreciate it if you would act as… nonaggressive as possible." Jack noticed that Hammond's eyes were locked on Seto, who yawned in an obviously faked manner. Instead Isis, whom Jack was beginning to think was the voice of reason, spoke up.

"I can assure you that we will try to be polite when talking to this 'Thor'. Any ally against the System Lords is welcome, after all."

Jack couldn't help but barely muffle a snort, turning it into a hasty cough which evolved into a very real one. He doubted that… Throughout the rest of the meeting, Jack continued to keep a close eye on Seto, figuring he was the most likely to attempt to kill Yami.

When the meeting was finally over Jack stood, stretching and heading for the door before he was stopped by General Hammond.

"Colonel, I don't need to say this, but I will anyway. Your priority on this mission and all future ones should something go wrong is Yami's safety. If anything starts to happen, I want you to ask Thor to send him back immediately."

Jack nodded, "Of course, General. Mind you, he doesn't look like the sort to just retreat from a fight where others are still in danger, but I'm sure I can carry him over one shoulder and get Thor to beam him back if it comes down to it."

Hammond nodded. "Very well, then. Good luck, Colonel."

"Thank you, Sir." Jack responded, moving after the rest of the group. He caught up to them in the gate room, waiting for him before proceeding. As soon as he had joined the others, he motioned for Walter to go ahead and contact Thor to let him know they were ready.

Within moments he found himself on Thor's ship with the diminutive Asgard standing in front of him. Thor inclined his head.

"O'Neill. It is nice to see you under these circumstances."

"Same to you, Thor." Jack replied, turning to check on the others. Yami stumbled slightly upon appearing, but managed to remain on his feet.

"Well, that's one of the better first trips off-world I've ever seen." Jack commented. "I'd like to introduce you to Thor. He's a member of the Asgard race and has been helping planets designated as being free of Goa'uld presence by a treaty. Of course, he also does the bidding of the Asgardian Council, and this is his ship."

Yami managed a nod, eyes wide as he gaped at his surroundings. Considering they were on the bridge of Thor's spaceship with a view of the space around them, Jack could understand his silence. Thor, meanwhile, was staring at Yami curiously.

"Is this the boy you mentioned, O'Neill? Strange… he looks similar to the descriptions I heard of the Pharaoh who drove the Goa'uld Ra off of your planet."

Jack frowned, "Really? That's interesting… What a coincidence. Our new allies apparently left Egypt not long after Ra was driven out. Have you heard anything about them?"

Thor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, O'Neill. Although the news of Ra's departure reached our ears, afterwards we were busy and no more information was received."

"Ah." Jack commented, motioning the Goa'uld over. "Well, this is Thor, one of our first allies. Thor, this is Isis, Seto, Mahad, Mana, Akhenaden, Karim, Shada, and Shimon, our new Goa'uld allies."

Thor blinked, inclining his head. "It is a pleasure."

Snorting, Seto turned away. "I'm sure it is." Isis gave them a tight lipped smile.

"Please excuse his rudeness. Seto!" she called, following after him. The rest of the Goa'uld also trailed off in various directions to study the ship even as Yami approached, having apparently finished looking around. Only Mahad stayed nearby, Jack noted.

"This is a fascinating ship… I have a question, though. Aren't you upset because the Goa'uld claim to be Gods?"

Jack nodded, wondering where the boy was heading. "Yeah. They convince the populace to allow them to do whatever they want, including mass murder, because they are divine. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering because Thor is the name of one of the Norwegian Gods. How is that any different?"

Thor looked over at Yami, "A wise question. However, our names merely reached the ears of the Tau'ri on Earth. We never attempted to set ourselves up as Gods."

Jack took over. "They were known as Gods on other planets, however that was just a stop gap until they felt the population was ready to learn the truth. The Asgard are very different from the Goa'uld in that respect. The Egyptian Gods were all Goa'uld posing as Gods, whereas the Norwegian Gods were based off of the Asgard, not the other way around."

Frowning, Yami spoke slowly, "I don't believe that. If the ancient Egyptians threw out the false gods, why would they continue to use their names as a basis of their religion? There must have been a reason why they kept the names, so couldn't that imply the Egyptian Gods did exist?"

Jack almost laughed before noticing the kid's serious expression. "You seem to really believe in them," he commented, thrown a little off guard.

Yami hesitated slightly before nodding. "I do. Ever since I was young the Egyptian Gods have always been real for me. Maybe I don't know how to worship them in the way they once were, but I do believe that they exist and can affect us."

Thor spoke up, "Much like the humans on the worlds we protect believe in the same God that was named after me, perhaps there is something in simply believing that we cannot measure using our instruments. Whether they do exist or not, we will likely never know."

Jack nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mahad watching them closely. Mentally he made a note to up Yami's protection for the night. He didn't like the attention that the kid was attracting from their 'allies'.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Hi everyone! Sorry for this being so late... Again... That blizzard completely covered my house, and after digging out my three cars I was so exhausted I couldn't edit this before posting it. :D So, a shout out to my sister's fic in here for those of you who read it! Otherwise enjoy, and thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine:**

Yami let out a relieved sigh as he dropped his things on the floor upon entering his room. He wasn't certain if he could keep his eyes open for another minute. During dinner he had barely managed to stay awake, nearly falling asleep in the dessert much to Mana's apparent delight. Afterwards, he had begged a need for sleep and headed back for his room. Instead of the usual guard, he now had three. Apparently one wasn't enough to keep him safe…

Shutting the door behind him, he moved around the room, putting his things away with a methodical tiredness. He was just turning away from the closet when he realized the door was open. Fighting back the images of horror movies where such occurrences usually led to the person's death, he slowly moved towards it. Peering out, he saw all three guards were present and after assuring them that everything was fine, he carefully closed the door. Making sure it latched, he began to turn around when something caught his eye.

Perhaps it was a measure of how tired he was, but Yami jumped before letting out a sigh of relief as he saw the black cat sitting there. He hadn't thought pets were allowed in the facility, but they must have had some animals in one of the many labs Daniel had skimmed over during his tour.

"Well… I don't suppose you're going to suddenly jump up and eat me." Yami commented, relief making him talk to the feline, a smile crossing his face. Turning towards the door, he continued, "We'll get you back to where you belong…"

"I would appreciate it if you would not inform the guards of my presence." A voice spoke behind him. Slowly turning, Yami's crimson eyes met calm lavender ones.

Inwardly, Yami was on the verge of panic. Although Jack had never specifically told him, never allowing Yami to so much as go to the bathroom without a guard had hinted to Yami that Jack didn't trust their new allies. Also when he was wandering around the base, Yami had noticed that there were always people nearby. At first, he had assumed that they were also interested in food from the cafeteria or were doing research, but eventually he had decided they were there to keep a relatively unobtrusive eye on him. Now that one of the Goa'uld was in his room...

Outward expression showing no sign of his inner turmoil, Yami inclined his head. "Mahad. I didn't see you come in… What can I do for you?"

Mahad blinked, almost looking startled. "I… Nothing. I merely wanted a chance to get to know you, seeing as how we have not had much of an opportunity to spend time talking. I know that Seto can be unapproachable, however I am interested in finding out more about you…"

Yami blinked as Mahad trailed off, a startling fact coming to him; Mahad was nervous. The way the Goa'uld's eyes kept darting off to various corners and his babbling were obvious tells.

"You wanted to get to know more about me?" he asked, wanting to hear it once more before believing.

Mahad nodded. "Yes. I feel bad that we pulled you away from your life, and I figured the least I could do is get to know you more."

Yami smiled slightly. "My life's not very interesting. I live with Solomon Mouto and his grandson, Yugi. They adopted me when I was only five. Grandpa is an archeologist, and on one of his trips to Egypt he found me in an orphanage. I'm afraid that I remember very little of my childhood… Most of what I know about Egypt I learned later."

Mahad nodded listening intently. Yami hesitated, before continuing. "Nothing really exciting began to happen until after I completed the Millennium Puzzle. I was already fairly good at Duel Monsters, but as I never competed in tournaments it was more of a hobby. One day, Maximillian Pegasus… invited me to a tournament known as Duelist Kingdom. After I beat the inventor, Pegasus himself, I gained the title King of Games. Since then, I've been going to many different tournaments. That's how I ended up in America, and ultimately here, I suppose."

Mahad slowly nodded. "Are you good at games, then?" he asked, his expression one of curiosity.

"I suppose so. I haven't lost a game yet, but I've only played Duel Monsters competitively, so I don't know how I would compare to experts in other games."

Silence reigned between the two for a while, Mahad apparently taking in what Yami had told him, and Yami trying to make sense of Mahad's behavior. Although he hadn't been sure what to think of the Goa'uld other than what he had been told, Yami found himself warming up to the man. Yami finally spoke, his own curiosity rearing its head.

"Why don't you tell me more about yourself, Mahad? I only know what I've heard about Goa'uld in general from Jack and the others." Yami leaned back against the wall, making himself comfortable. Mahad glanced up at him, startled.

"You want to know more about me?" he asked, looking confused.

"Of course; why wouldn't I? Besides. I've told you about myself, so it's only fair that you reciprocate." Yami smiled, trying to make Mahad a little more at ease.

Mahad's eyes flickered towards the door now more than an arm's reach away from Yami before he began to speak, relaxing. "What would you like to know about me?" he asked.

"Whatever you want me to know. Anything that can tell me about who you are and what your life has been like." Yami suggested.

"Ah… Well, I was born in Khemet around the year 3000BC by your calendar. You call it Egypt now, I suppose. My father died when I was very young, and my mother spent most of her time trying to take care of me. When I was five, my magic began to show itself and I was taken to the palace to be trained by the magicians there. I was not much older than that when I met Prince for the first time. His father, the Pharaoh, was busy doing tasks for Lord Ra and didn't have much time remaining to spend with his son. I spent most of my childhood and young adulthood with him. I was his friend until he died."

Yami sensed Mahad's mood shift and tried to hastily change the subject. "You mentioned you were called to the palace because you had magic. What do you mean by that?"

Mahad glanced up, pulled from his memories. "I meant my Heka."

Frowning, Yami shrugged helplessly. "So… you mean sleight of hand tricks?"

Almost looking affronted, Mahad shook his head emphatically. "No! I mean Heka… It's a magic that draws on power within the wielder, although you have to be born with it. Here, I can show you."

Mahad began to chant something under his breath, motioning to the floor between himself and Yami. Yami's eyes widened as a small spotted cat appeared, sitting up and staring at him before vanishing again.

"That's what Heka is, or at least the means in which mine manifests itself. Mana and I are masters of illusions, while other mages in our time focused on portals and other such spells."

Yami laughed, delightedly meeting Mahad's eyes. "It's amazing. I can't believe that magic actually exists! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by much of anything after all I've been through, but… is that how you got in here? You were the cat? But that wasn't an illusion, was it?"

Mahad looked slightly nonplussed, before he returned Yami's smile with a genuine one of his own. "Yes, it was an illusion, however a far more powerful one. In a sense, I actually become a cat or whatever animal I choose to as the illusion is very strong. Of course, it's rare to find a magician who has such power. Mana could do it too, if she would pay more attention to her studies."

That caught Yami off guard. "Mana can do this too?" he asked, startled. "She seems so…"

"Childish?" Mahad offered. "Mana sometimes acts how she did back in Khemet. During the… events before our departure she was forced to grow up very quickly. As she hasn't actually physically aged much since then, she sometimes tends to regress."

Yami frowned. "She doesn't act upset, though... I think it suits her…" Hesitating, he finally spoke again. "I'm very sorry, Mahad, but could we talk more later? I am exhausted, and as interesting as learning about your past is, if I stay awake much longer I'll fall asleep standing. Do you want me to let you out? I'm sure if I tell the guards that I let you in to visit me…"

Mahad shook his head. "No, I don't want to bother you. I can get out without them noticing. That was you won't be in any trouble for allowing me into your room without informing anyone."

Nodding his acceptance, Yami began to make his way toward the bed. "Well, goodnight Mahad."

The Goa'uld hesitated at the door. "Goodnight… Yami." With that, he was gone so quickly that Yami wasn't sure if the entire visit hadn't been concocted by his sleep deprived brain.


	11. Chapter Ten

_Well, I'm back! It has been really rough, so I didn't have much time to focus on updating, but since I have the story I figured I might as well post it. My sister is hoping to update some of hers soon as well, if possible. Thanks to everyone who has been patiently waiting for this to finish! Here is chapter 10! Leave comments if you can... Honestly, that was what got me back to finish uploading! And to answer the question, yes Yugi does show up eventually. Couldn't have Yugioh without him!_

 **Chapter Ten:**

 _As he ran through the halls, the young boy wiped tears from his eyes. Even though he was the son of the Pharaoh and would one day inherit the throne, that didn't stop the other children from teasing him about his appearance. Although outwardly many people were polite, he could hear their whispers about his crimson eyes marking him as the son of Set, destined to destroy the land of Khemet._

 _Spinning around the corner, he slipped into one of the nearest vases. Not long after he had carefully hidden himself in the large ornament, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall._

" _My Prince? My Prince? Where could he have gone?" a voice asked, the tone marking him as a guard._

" _Keep looking. Turn the entire palace over if we have to. If the Pharaoh or Lord Ra find out that we lost him, it will be our necks. Now spread out and search!" the head guard ordered. Soon, silence filled the hall once again and the boy allowed himself to sob as quietly as possible. He would return, of course, before the guards could get in trouble; however, for the moment he merely wanted to be alone, without the constant eyes._

 _Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him and the child realized that he had been crying so hard he had forgotten to listen for others entering the hall. Blinking, he looked up through tear stained eyes. Above him was another boy, one that he had never seen before. Long brown hair hung down to the boy's shoulders as he peered into the vase._

" _Are you okay?" the older boy asked, reaching a hand into the vase to help the other out. The younger boy hesitated before taking the proffered arm. When he was out of the vase, he continued to look at the ground in case his eyes would chase this friend away as well._

 _He merely nodded, not raising his head. Finally, the other spoke again._

" _My name's Mahad. I've been trying to find my way to the mage quarters, but I've gotten a little lost… What about you?"_

 _The boy glanced up slightly, briefly meeting Mahad's eyes before looking back at the floor. "I'm… lost too."_

" _Really?" Mahad said with a smile, "Well, then. Perhaps we can help each other out?"_

 _The boy slowly glanced up, eyes meeting Mahad's but holding them this time. "Truly?"_

 _Watching Mahad's expression, the boy saw the slight glimmer of shock and apprehension that flashed over the boy's face. Starting to pull away, the boy was already planning his escape when Mahad smiled once again._

" _Of course. Friends help each other do they not?"_

 _The boy slowly smiled up at Mahad. "Yes… They do." Taking his hand, the boy bounded off, already planning everything that they could see and do… Behind him, Mahad was also smiling as he followed along, apparently content to be led around. They turned the corner, and_

Yami suddenly woke up. Shaking, he slowly sat up, the sheets sliding down around his waist. Apparently someone had tucked him in last night, as he had no memory of getting into bed. Looking at the clock, he realized that, instead of waking hours before everyone else, he was late. For some reason, though, he still felt exhausted. Whatever these strange dreams were, they didn't seem to be getting him much rest.

As he left the room, heading for the dining hall, two of the guards peeled off from the door and followed him. When Yami asked them why, they responded that they were to keep him from getting lost in the twists and turns of the facility, something he found hard to believe. However, his current state of exhaustion kept him from calling them out on it.

When he arrived, the entire SG-1 team was sitting at a table, eating and discussing the Goa'uld situation. More of a surprise, though, was the fact that Mahad was sitting a little ways down the same table, looking uncomfortably out of place. Blinking, Yami slowly made his way over to the group after grabbing some food to eat himself. Seating himself between Daniel and Mahad, he turned toward the Goa'uld.

"Hello, Mahad. Why aren't you with the others?"

Mahad shrugged, not answering. Yami figured that he was uncomfortable enough with the SG team nearby, but before he could try to reassure Mahad that it was okay Jack spoke up.

"Hey, Yami, today we're going to be getting you some off world training. Before we can take you to another planet with us you'll have to know a little bit about the world we might be visiting, as well as what to do if we do find ourselves being attacked. Usually, sticking with Daniel should be enough to keep you out of trouble, however I'd rather have you be prepared than lucky."

Shooting Mahad a look that said he wanted to talk later, Yami turned back towards Jack. "I understand. It would be better for me to already know what I need to do instead of you wasting valuable time telling me."

Daniel laughed, "I told you he'd say that, Jack. You were so certain he'd object! Looks like you owe me twenty dollars."

Yami laughed along with Daniel, deciding not to mention that while he might learn everything, that didn't necessarily mean he'd use it. Behind him, he heard Mahad mutter, "I would bet money on him not following that advice."

Grinning over his shoulder, Yami leaned towards the Goa'uld. "You'd win, then." He commented softly, ensuring that Jack, who was currently digging out a twenty, wouldn't hear. Briefly, he flashed back to his dream; Mahad had been in it, and while it could have been because of their conversation immediately before hand… Well, there was something else about the dream, something that made Yami certain that Mahad was a friend, no matter who or what he might be.

Jack looked over the results from the tests. Yami was actually doing very well so far. Physically, he was very fit, and while perhaps not exactly military standards he was far from gasping for air after a couple of steps.

Yami was also shaping up to be a very bright young man. Daniel would explain how to use one of the field devices once and Yami would remember it when asked later, with few if any mistakes. Jack finally asked him how he was doing it.

Yami blinked, as though it was not something he had thought about before. "I suppose that I'm just good at memorization. There are a lot of games where victory depends on knowing which cards the opponent has, and if one can remember what is in the deck and what has already been played then it becomes easier."

"Does everything you do involve games?" Jack asked, a little nonplussed at the similar response. Yami had just laughed.

"Well, I'm good at games, so I suppose a lot of my talents lie in that area. Besides, I made an effort to learn how to quickly remember things; one never knows when it might come in handy." As Yami turned back to what Daniel was teaching, Jack noticed the almost sad look that crossed his face.

Daniel glanced over at Jack, finishing up. "Well, that's all of the basic field gear. Any more complicated gear can be explained to you if we need to use it."

Nodding, Jack checked off yet another thing on the checklist Hammond had drawn up for him. "Well, that's another step closer to going offworld… Weapons are off the list, as you won't be carrying any. We're hoping that by keeping you unarmed, not only will you be able to get away easier, you might even be able to pass under enemy radar as they focus on the rest of us. Besides, you're far too young for a weapon."

He wasn't even surprised at Yami's calm nod. Compared to many teenagers Jack had had the unfortunate luck to run into, Yami was extremely placid. Instead of being ruled by his emotions, he seemed to almost rein them in, letting them loose only when he thought they would help him get what he wanted.

Considering that what he wanted usually had a good reason behind it, Jack was more than happy to give him what he asked for, including a few game boards that he'd had to pick up from nearby stores. Other recent purchases had included a few books and an English Dictionary. Yami had explained that, while his English was okay, there were still some words he didn't understand.

Looking back at the list, Jack continued speaking. "Let's see… Next we just have basic survival and a slight bit of history."

Yami blinked. "History?"

Daniel leaned forward in excitement. "Yes. Before you go offworld, it would be helpful to understand the history of any races we might run into, such as the Goa'uld, Tok'ra, or Asgard. We can always start with the Goa'uld and Tok'ra since they're the most similar." Seeming to recall where he was, Daniel looked over at Jack pleadingly. "It won't matter if we start with the history, will it?"

Shaking his head, Jack leaned back to relax and put his feet up. "I don't see the harm." Pulling his hat over his head, Jack began to doze.

He swam in and out of consciousness until for some reason he found himself wide awake, despite the fact that Daniel was still lecturing. Yawning, Jack glanced over at the board Daniel had pulled over and found it full of various bits of information.

Yami was actually awake and even asking questions. Jack groaned under his breath at seeing that. Great… another scientist like Carter and Daniel. He was never going to hear the end of it now. At least he still had Teal'c who didn't understand all of the scientific babble.

Daniel began writing symbols on the board that Jack recognized as hieroglyphics. Groaning once again, he began to lean back in an attempt to avoid a headache. After having spent who knew how many days trying to translate one tablet, he hated hieroglyphics with a passion. Before he could get comfortable, though, Yami spoke up.

"Daniel, isn't that last word wrong? It should be tw instead of tn." He commented, frowning at the board.

Frowning, Daniel flipped through his book, looking at his notes before looking up at Yami with wide eyes. "You're right… You must have a head for languages. It took me a long time to pick up Egyptian, although I suppose that hearing it at the same time helps."

Jack was sitting up by now, eyebrows raised. Well, what did you know… Maybe Daniel was a good teacher after all. Either that, or the notes Daniel had given him to look through were better than those he had given them during the time loop.

Yami blinked, looking at Daniel with a rather stunned look before finally nodding. "I suppose so. I'm sure that it has more to do with your notes and the teacher than any personal skill." He stated, and Jack eyed him. Despite his words, Yami was looking unnerved as Daniel continued the lesson, an expression Jack was fairly certain did not usually grace the faces of those learning. Boredom, yes, and possibly agony, but nervousness? He remained awake for the remainder of the lesson.

 _I don't know how to do the line thing anymore, apparently. Well, please review, and thank you for reading!_


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Hi again everyone! So, I am probably going to start posting this once a week around the weekends until I get everything up. I hate knowing it is fully written and not up here for people to read. BUT! If I get a review, I will post another chapter up to one time a day. :) Either way, it will all get up here, it just might be slower of faster, depending. ;) Oh, and I figured out the line thing again. As always, post if you see any other mistakes!**

 **For any readers of Cats, I just want to say that my sister is writing more for that now that life has settled down. It should show up sometime in October with more updates!**

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Chapter Eleven:

Yami met up with the black cat in the halls as he stumbled back towards his room. He had thought nothing would compare to his first trip to Thor's ship, but what he had learned today was… amazing. And terrifying. When he had pointed out Daniel's mistake, Yami had realized that the words were legible. Not only could he read them, but he could tell that Daniel was writing in a slang-filled version and somehow he knew how to make it into a very formal form. Daniel had questioned him intensively on what he knew and Yami had told him what he could do, although he had to admit that he had no idea how he knew it. It had taken Jack's intervention with the survival training to draw Daniel away.

As he entered his room, he quickly shut the door and soon Mahad was standing where the cat was even as Yami moved over to the bed, slipping onto it and resting his back against the wall.

Mahad was the first to speak. "Is something wrong… Yami?"

"Yes…No… I don't know. How could I know something that I shouldn't have had any prayer of knowing? If I knew how, then maybe it would be better but…"

Frowning, Mahad slowly moved over to stand next to the bed. "Is there anything I can assist with?" he asked, genuine concern crossing over his face.

Yami shook his head, wishing to only forget the events of a few hours earlier. "I don't really want to talk about it…" Remembering something else that had been on his mind, Yami hesitated before asking Mahad a question.

"Mahad… How did you and your Prince meet? You mentioned him yesterday, but you never said how you met." He commented slowly, waiting with bated breath.

Mahad blinked, a little thrown off balance. "How Prince and I met? Well… when he was younger he was often teased by the other young nobles because of his appearance. When I found him, he was hiding from the guards in one of the giant vases that decorated the palace. I was lost myself, having just arrived, but I heard sobbing and when I went to investigate I found him crouched in the pot."

Yami felt as though all the breath had suddenly left him. Mind returning to his dream, he held it up to Mahad's account and realized that the two were almost identical. Unless he was going insane, he was somehow having dreams that portrayed actual events in the past. Suddenly, he realized Mahad was staring at him and must have asked a question. Thinking quickly, he tried to remedy the situation. "Sorry, Mahad. I guess I must be more tired than I had originally assumed… Could you repeat what you were saying?"

Mahad nodded, watching Yami worriedly. "I was asking if you were okay. Ever since you returned from being with Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson you seem… distant. Did something go wrong?"

Shaking his head, Yami tried his hardest to tell Mahad the truth, if not necessarily all of it. "It's just… Having to learn about everything that I should know before traveling to other worlds is… not difficult, but…"

Jumping in, Mahad suggested, "It is more work than you thought it would be."

Yami nodded. "Yeah, and not just in terms of working to memorize everything. I can't help but wonder what will happen if this doesn't work. There are so many people who wouldn't know what would happen to them until it was too late. Also… the longer I'm here the more I feel like things are changing… that I'm changing, only I don't know how, or if I'll be the same afterwards."

Mahad's look softened.

"It's okay to worry about change. However, no matter what happens I do not think you will change to the point where you could not recognize who you are now. What makes you you, the ba as we call it, does not change. You will still be you, no matter what happens."

Yami smiled over at Mahad, "And I will still be your friend, I hope."

Nodding, Mahad smiled. "Of course. I would not have it any other way."

Yami leaned back again, although he had never noticed when he had leaned forward. Smiling up at Mahad, he decided to switch to a different, less emotional topic. "So, Mahad… Have you ever learned how to play Duel Monsters?"

Jack moved forward, pacing around the room as Daniel and Carter stared at him from their seats. Teal'c was standing behind his chair, eyes also following Jack as he paced around.

"He could read that chicken scratch! Better than Daniel even, and he admitted to never having even seen the language before except in history texts and on the Millenium Puzzle!" Jack ranted, still worked up. "I don't see how he could do that! We know he's not possessed by a Goa'uld and never has been, so how else could he read Ancient Egyptian?"

Carter shrugged. "I don't know, Sir. He shouldn't be able to, but as you and Daniel claim he did then obviously there must be an explanation for it… Like how you could read Ancient after seeing the repository."

Frowning, Jack turned towards her, "Carter, you have a point there… What if he also has a connection to the Ancients?"

Daniel nodded, "There's an easy means of testing that. We can always see if he can read Ancient, and perhaps see if he can translate some of the other tablets we have…"

Before he could continue into the realm of speculation, Jack hastily interrupted him. "We get the picture, Daniel."

Teal'c spoke up in the ensuing silence. "Perhaps he himself truly does not even know how he does it. If so, wouldn't this be unnerving for him, to suddenly understand a language he has never heard before?"

Carter nodded. "Teal'c's right… Yami must be wondering exactly what this could mean for him. I know, tomorrow I'll try to get in touch with Dad and Selmac. You never know… The Tok'ra might have heard of a case like this before. In the meantime, perhaps we should all go sleep on the matter."

Nodding in agreement, the team began to file out. Jack snorted under his breath. He rather doubted that, even if the Tok'ra did have an idea as to what was going on, they would tell them. As far as Tok'ra went, Selmak wasn't too bad but the others…

Daniel, the only one left in the room, glanced towards him. "So, Jack… What do you think of today's events?"

Jack sighed. "I get the feeling that we've stepped into more than we could have ever expected… I just sincerely hope that is the worst of it."

Nodding, Daniel stood up from his chair, moving around towards where Jack was standing. "I'm sure nothing else can go too wrong… And think about it! If Yami can really translate hieroglyphics without needing notes then…"

Daniel was once again interrupted, but this time Jack wasn't the one behind the distraction. Instead, a glowing figure appeared. Daniel gasped, "Oma!?"

The woman inclined her head, "Daniel Jackson. I was asked by the Others to inform you of one of our own in this area. She has never meddled in your affairs before, however we have reason to believe she might soon. If she does so, I do not know what will happen. As she is our concern, we will deal with her should things get out of control, but be warned; she is not your ally in this affair."

Jack started forward, "Hey! Wait a minute…" Before he could ask whose ally this ascended was, Oma had vanished once again.

Immediately, Jack turned towards Daniel, "So… Who was she?"

Daniel looked stunned, "Oma Desala… She's the Ancient who helped me ascend. For her to come visit us in person, not to mention for the Others to send her, there must be some concern about this rogue ascended."

"Yeah? Well, I haven't seen any signs of a rogue ascended… I mean, nothing unexplainable…" Jack trailed off as he and Daniel stared at each other. "You don't think…" Jack began.

"It's the only explanation." Daniel finished. "How else could a normal fifteen year old know Ancient Egyptian? I'm not sure if that is entirely possible, but it's the only sign we have." Nodding Jack motioned for Daniel to follow him.

"Well, come on then. We've got some plans to make if we want to ensure that nothing gets out of hand…"

Neither man noticed the girl in the corner, her white hair shining in an invisible light as she listened to their conversation before disappearing, leaving the room truly empty.

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 **There we go! Remember, please review! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Well, the action starts! I hope you like this chapter, and while I know it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger I'm sure you'll have fun looking forward to the next one! Remember, for every day someone reviews I will post another chapter!**

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 **Chapter Twelve:**

 _The two boys ran through the halls, the younger giggling as he tried to keep all of the sweets contained in his tunic. The two darted behind a pillar, remains of their previous snacking coating their mouths._

" _Mahad, how did you make that giant elephant in the kitchen?" the younger asked, laughing._

 _Mahad smiled down at him. "Honestly? I have no idea… I'm glad it worked, though. When the cook saw us with all these sweets, I thought she was going to hit us with that pan she was holding."_

 _The younger boy giggled again, peering around the corner. Suddenly, a group of guards came racing around the corner and he had to hastily retreat._

" _Prince? We know you came this way. Prince?" one of the guards called as they ran by, still chasing the thieves. Mahad blinked._

" _Do you suppose the Prince was in the kitchens, too?" he asked, causing the younger boy to shift uncomfortably._

" _I suppose he must've… At least that means they didn't find us, right?"_

 _Mahad nodded. "Yeah. You know, I've been waiting to tell you something all day, you see I…" Before he could tell the younger boy, a shadow loomed over them._

 _The relieved guard let out a sigh before turning down the hall. "I've found him. He's over here." Turning back towards the two boys, he knelt down. "My Prince, please come with me and return to your rooms."_

 _The boy felt stunned. Although he had expected this to happen, he had secretly hoped that Mahad would never find out… As he slowly followed the guard out of the room, clothes messy and stained from the food it had been carrying, the boy glanced over his shoulder._

 _Mahad stood there, looking almost forlorn as he stared after them, a look of shock still on his face. Turning back front, the boy bit his lip to prevent the tears from falling where others could see them. Princes weren't supposed to cry in front of anyone… to do so would reveal that they were human. As hard as he tried, though, one lone tear slid slowly down one cheek, dropping unnoticed to the ground._

* * *

Seto paced the room. Ever since their visit to Thor… No, ever since they had returned from Colorado Springs, he had felt as though he was being watched. That wasn't what had him pacing, though. He could find nothing that indicated that someone was watching him… no cameras, no people, no peepholes. Seto compared the feeling to having sand in one's clothes. As long as it was there, it was an irritant until one could find the single grain and remove it.

Today they were to once again go off world, a welcome relief from the monotony of the day before. Of course, they still had to wait for the humans to eat before leaving…

Suddenly, there was the sound of something hard slamming down. Seto was instantaneously on his feet, already reaching out to his shadow magic. Instead, he saw nothing, no sign of what could have made the noise except for a book lying beside the table. He moved forward, still suspiciously holding his magic at the ready. When he saw what it was, though, he relaxed. One of Mahad's books. The stupid mage must have sent his book to the wrong room or simply forgot it in here.

Picking it up, Seto headed for the door. He and Mahad had never really gotten along and any chance to harass the mage was a welcome opportunity in Seto's opinion. He moved through the halls, reaching Mahad's room and kicking the door open without knocking.

To his surprise, the room was completely empty. Feeling even more annoyed, he spun around and reached out with his shadow magic. As soon as he had located Mahad he began heading in that direction. Portaling would give away too much to their new "allies", after all.

When he reached Mahad's location, he found himself in the center of the mess hall. Mahad was surprisingly easy to find, and not in a good sense. There was a distinct lack of people around him and the boy he was with, Yami. The two were talking animatedly to each other and judging from their expressions this was far from the first time they had done so.

Fury welled up within Seto. He had told all of the Guardians to avoid the boy until they knew more about his motives, and here was Mahad sitting at the table with him and eating.

The boy laughed at something Mahad had said, trailing off as he noticed Seto standing over them.

"Umm… Is there something we can help you with, Seto?" the boy asked, drawing himself up unconsciously.

"Yes. Mahad can help me out. Right now." Without waiting for an answer, Seto stormed off. Soon, he could hear Mahad's hurried footsteps behind him. As soon as they were out of earshot, Mahad spoke up.

"Seto, please just listen. I know I disobeyed your orders, but how can we find out anything about him if we don't listen to what he has to tell us?"

Seto spun around, his sudden stop almost causing Mahad to run smack into him. "Really, Mahad? Did it even occur to you that I might have had a very good reason for not wanting any of us to interact with him? Or is your brain just so pathetically small that…"

Suddenly, to Seto's vast surprise, Mahad glanced up from where he had been staring at the floor. "Seto, he could read hieroglyphics. Not like Doctor Jackson, either. I mean he could read them as though it was his natural language."

Seto froze, having been about to yell at Mahad even more for interrupting him. "He could understand them?"

"Yes. Seto, how many humans do you think would be able to do that?"

Seto didn't answer, lost in thought. This was a sudden turn of events. In fact… it was enough to make him curious in the boy. Brushing Mahad aside, Seto continued down the hall, already planning various means of testing the boy. Before he was going to believe that there was anything special about this boy, Seto was going to ensure that Mahad was telling the truth. Through any means possible.

The girl following him smiled brightly, blue eyes lighting up.

* * *

Yami raced down the hall, all of the gear he had been given in his arms or in the backpack. After finishing breakfast with the remainder of SG-1 after Mahad's sudden departure, he had been told that they were going offworld. Apparently General Hammond had been impressed enough by his scores that he had decided to allow Yami to learn the rest in the field.

Moving into the Gate room, he was surprised to see Seto standing there beside Mahad and the SG team. Jack was not looking very happy about it either.

"So… You want to come with us why?" he demanded, looking ready to attempt to toss them out of the room.

Seto smirked, shrugging. "Why not. We've never been to any other planets before… It might be interesting."

Jack sighed, apparently seeing no reason to forbid them from coming. "And the others?"

"Not interested." Was Seto's only response. For some reason, Yami didn't believe him. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that Mahad suddenly turned an interesting shade of red and wouldn't meet his eyes.

Suddenly, a voice spoke over the intercom. "Ready Colonel?"

Jack sighed, waving up at the control room. "Ready whenever you are, Walter. Let's just dial and get going."

Yami had to physically force himself not to bounce on his toes in excitement. Although he had been to see Thor's starship, that was not the same as a different planet.

The gate was soon formed in front of them, and obeying the instructions he had been given Yami followed Daniel through the Gate, with Seto and Mahad behind him.

As they emerged into the richly wooded world, Yami couldn't help but let out a gasp of awe. The trees were large, much larger than any on Earth, and the foliage was subtly different from what Yami had ever seen before as well.

Jack and Sam were already moving forward, apparently having cleared the area with Teal'c's help. Yami followed Daniel as the man began to move towards some of the plants, pulling out the collection jars he had been given.

Kneeling beside Daniel, Yami listened as the scientist talked about the plants' apparently amazing ability to react to their surroundings, carefully placing everything Daniel handed him into a container and sealing it. When they were done, what felt like hours later, the two moved to join the others.

Jack glanced over from where he'd been attempting to peer through the trees. "Hey, you two done? I was thinking we could go over the hill and see if we can find anything interesting."

"Like natives? Yami asked, torn between excitement at meeting another race and nerves.

Jack was already shaking his head, however. "Our scans for life forms came back completely negative. Apparently, this planet is dominated by plants or the types of life on it aren't detectable by our scanners."

Nodding, Yami fell into step behind him, inserting himself next to Mahad and ignoring Seto's constant stare as the man walked behind him.

"So, Mahad…" he asked softly, "Why did you and Seto really come?"

Mahad jumped slightly, making a visible attempt to school his expressions. Suddenly, though, his face became a perfectly believable mask, "I don't know what you're talking about, Yami."

Studying his face, Yami laughed. "Now I know you're lying to me, Mahad. If you'd wanted to get away with that one, your illusion should have blended more seamlessly with your facial expressions."

Mahad had the decency to blush. "I'm afraid I can't tell you… I wish I could, though."

Shrugging, Yami was about to tell Mahad it was okay when suddenly a hand grabbed him and pulled him down. Mahad was also dragged down by Seto, who had apparently seen what Jack had.

"Shhh…" he hissed. Yami peered over the crest of the hill, lifting his upper body up and straining to look over Jack and Teal'c. Finally, he saw what they had: pyramidal structures rising from the cleared field in front of them. Eyes widening, he slowly and quietly looked towards Jack.

"Are those…?"

Instead of Jack, it was Teal'c who answered. "It is indeed a Goa'uld system lord. Judging by their marks, I would say that they are in service to Heru'ur. His men are now in service to Ba'al. A very cruel Goa'uld…"

Seto hissed under his breath, muttering something unintelligible to Yami's ears. Mahad was also frowning, seemingly angry. When Yami shot him a questioning look, he simply responded, "Heru'ur is the son of the false god Ra."

Remembering what Mahad had told him about the system lord, Yami shuddered. Heru'ur and Ba'al didn't sound like anyone he would want to meet. Ever.

Jack turned, motioning for them to go back. As soon as they were far enough down the hill he gave Yami a look. "Well, I'd like to say this is just our luck, but I would have to say that it seems you're a part of our streak as well. We can discuss how this could have happened later. For now, get back to the Star Gate and dial home. Teal'c Carter, and I will look out for any Jaffa who may try to stop us."

Nodding, Yami ran after Daniel, following the man into the clearing where the Star Gate was located. Daniel stopped so suddenly, Yami almost ran into him before he noticed. He could hear Mahad, who was behind him, stumble as he too tried to keep from running into anyone. Standing between them and the Star Gate were three men, each one holding what Yami thought he recognized as a Staff Weapon from the training the day before. If so, things were not looking good for them. As he turned around, he realized that more had come up behind them.

Jack glanced around, apparently noting how outnumbered they were before slowly raising his weapon in the air in the classic pose. Before Yami could turn around, a voice spoke from behind him.

"Well, well… What do we have here? Looks like you've walked right into our landing party, O'Neil. And to think I didn't believe you would walk into such an obvious trap. However, humans are so gullible and stupid that I really shouldn't have doubted a thing."

Jack blinked, staring before finally speaking. "Well, it's great to see you too, Her'ur. You look real good for a dead guy."

Heru'ur shot him a nasty look. "Oh yes… I would have expected you to fall for that. As if I would allow myself to be killed that easily…"

He turned, moving along until his eyes lighted on Seto. He grinned, and if he had had fangs Yami didn't think it would be much scarier than the look in his eyes.

"Well, well, well… Who do we have here? Looks like two of my father's experiments. Still alive, are you?" Seto glared, and if looks could kill, Yami was certain that Heru'ur would have been six-feet under without anyone having to lift a finger. Mahad, on the other hand, had a slightly frantic look on his face as he inched to the side. Yami had just realized that Mahad was trying to move in front of him when Heru'ur continued moving towards him.

When the Goa'uld stopped in front of him, Yami realized something. He had been very wrong: the look on Heru'ur's face could, indeed, get worse. Much worse. Although he felt like backing away from the expression on the alien's face, he stood tall.

Finally the Goa'uld spoke, voice very soft. "I didn't expect to see you again. In fact, I had thought you were dead. A matter easily remedied."

Yami's eyes widened as the Goa'uld motioned to the Jaffa surrounding them. Suddenly he felt a blossoming pain spreading through his skull and then darkness engulfed him.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review, and if you see anything strange/grammatically incorrect do not hesitate to point it out. Have a great day!**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Next chapter! Things are picking up slightly. I hope you like it, and if you do please leave a review!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen:**

Jack started forward when Yami was struck only to hastily freeze when about ten staff weapons were leveled his way. Instead, he turned to his only recourse.

"So… Looks like you can only show how strong you are by attacking defenseless kids. Well, next you should try stepping on flowers. I hear it's marvelous when you want to feel all big and strong."

Heru'ur, much to Jack's immense surprise, ignored him. Instead he motioned for his Jaffa to take Yami away, and before Jack could do anything the boy was out of sight. Biting his tongue to keep from yelling something that could get Yami killed, Jack took a deep breath before speaking.

"So. Care to tell us how exactly you survived? I mean, I was pretty certain you had died in that explosion, considering Teal'c was one of the passengers in the only ship that left the wreckage."

The Goa'uld turned towards him. "You're not as perceptive as you think, human. You missed my departure as well as my escape. Aphophis wasn't able to destroy all of my ships, and I was able to use your feeble attempts to chase down your friend as a distraction."

Turning back towards Seto, Heru'ur continued. "Of course, I never dreamed I would be able to get my hands on you. After denying our father, you had the gall to lead the rebellion against him. It doesn't matter though."

"Really?" Seto commented, eyes hard. "You still seem to hold a grudge."

Heru'ur merely looked pleased. " That boy, he looks remarkably like that human child you were always following around. Before I kill you, perhaps I'll torture him until he breaks to make you suffer first."

Jack's mind was racing. From the sound of things, Heru'ur had run into their new allies before, and things hadn't ended well. Which left him with only one option…

"Well, you going to kill us now? I mean, we all know how afraid you are of us… and considering how many prison cells we've broken out of to wreak havoc on the Goa'uld who owned them. I understand if you're worried about the extremely large chance of our escape, so if you really want to kill us now, I completely understand."

Heru'ur glared over at Jack, glare deepening. "I am not afraid of you, human, and I doubt that you will be able to escape our prison." Motioning to the Horus guards on either side of them, he ordered "Take them to one of the holding cells. As far away from the other human as possible."

Immediately, he was saluted and soon Jack was being pushed down the pathway. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Seto's approving smirk. I never thought I'd say this, Jack thought to himself, but this is one thing a Goa'uld and I can agree on.

As soon as they had been thrown into a cell, Carter turned towards him. "What now, Sir?"

Mahad interrupted, looking panicked. "Why would you get us sent to a prison cell? We should have escaped and rescued Yami!"

"Idiot." Seto hissed. "If we showed that we were overly worried about him, the false god would have started the torture in front of us. Also, instead of being killed, we are now in a location that is likely close to where he is being held."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess… You're good at strategy games too?" Without waiting for an answer to his mostly rhetorical question, Jack turned towards the door. "Now that we're here, we might as well try to figure out how to escape."

Mahad, who had calmed down significantly after Seto's explanation, moved forward. "I believe I might be of some assistance in this matter."

Leaning down by the door, he whispered something under his breath. After finishing his chant, there was a faint noise and suddenly the door swung open. Jack stared in disbelief. "You've been holding out on us." He managed, trying to keep from allowing his jaw to drop.

"No…" Mahad said, hastily. "I didn't mention it and you never asked. Besides, I did tell someone."

"Hmm…" Jack responded, already creeping forward to kneel behind Teal'c. The Jaffa finished glancing outside of the door before motioning with his fingers to Jack, who in turn relayed the information back.

"There are four Jaffa, all at the only exit from this cell."

Seto smirked, "Since your weapons are… missing." He began, stressing the word missing. Jack felt his temper rise a notch, but held his tongue as Seto continued. "I will take care of the guards. I, at least, don't have to worry about losing my weapons."

Jack ground his teeth together as Seto moved out into the hall. Starting to follow him, Jack was surprised when Mahad suddenly grabbed his arm. "I would let Seto deal with them first…. In my experience, you don't want to be in the way when Seto is … taking care of people."

From the hall, there was the sound of alarm cries from the end of the hall as the Jaffa noticed Seto. Jack was about to ignore Mahad when suddenly darkness covered the corridor.

Jack and the rest of his team stared, Daniel starting to move forward curiously when Jack grabbed him. He didn't even need to hear Mahad's belated warning to know allowing Daniel to touch the thing would be a bad idea.

There was the sound of a muted roar followed by laughter, and slowly the darkness began to fade. Seto calmly walked back into the room, an almost feral gleam in his eyes. "What are you waiting for? An invitation?"

Jack moved into the hallway, seeing no sign of the missing guards except for their staff weapons on the floor. Seto motioned to them, "I decided it would behoove me to have you be armed. After all, I can't clean up all of your messes."

"What exactly did you do?" Daniel asked, eyes alight with curiosity.

Jack only had to shoot him a look before Daniel got the hint. "Right… Later."

Heading down the hall, the small group was soon moving through the building. Finally, Carter spoke up. "Sir, how are we supposed to find him? We've been through most of the cells… If he's not in the next section, we'll have a very limited window of search time before our escape is noticed. Especially since you goaded Heru'ur."

"Yeah, yeah…" Jack muttered under his breath, starting to feel a small welling of panic himself. It was bad enough to tell a child that her mother had been killed… But telling a man that his child had been killed? Jack knew how that felt, and he had no intention of putting anyone else through that pain. He was going to find Yami or he wouldn't be returning until he did.

Mahad suddenly made a small noise. Jack glanced over his shoulder in time to see the Goa'uld looking… embarrassed? "I can find him…" the Goa'uld admitted, turning even redder than before.

"You're an idiot, Mahad." Seto commented, giving him a disgusted look.

Ignoring Seto, Mahad pulled out his own Millenium Item. "Find" he whispered to it. Immediately one of the rings pointed towards the section they had just come from, just slightly higher. Immediately, Jack spun around, heading in the opposite direction.

Under his breath, he muttered, "We're coming for you, kid… You'd better still be alive."

* * *

Yami slowly opened his eyes to find himself tied up to some sort of large stone. When he tried to tug on the bonds, they refused to give even a little. His mouth was filled with a strange taste, but he couldn't focus on that right now. The sudden noise of someone moving in front of him caused him to look up, fear racing through him when he saw who it was.

Heru'ur slowly paced into Yami's vision, expression unreadable except for the small signs around his eyes that hinted as to the anger he was hiding.

"So… Imagine my surprise, young Prince, when I saw you again walking this world with your Guardians." He commented, practically spitting out the last word. "I heard of your death at the hands of my father's back-up plan. Not to mention, you were only a human. How could you have survived?"

Yami didn't respond, guessing that this was a rhetorical question. Heru'ur moved closer to him, leaning in. "I don't care if you are that slave or not, I will make an example of you."

Yami gulped faintly, feeling queasy as Heru'ur reached for one of the many knives lying on a small table nearby. Moving forwards, he drew back when suddenly there were the sounds of a huge commotion coming from somewhere else in the building. Heru'ur paused, glancing over his shoulder before returning the knife to its previous position next to an empty vial.

"I'll deal with you later." He stated shortly before turning and storming out the door. Yami slumped down in his bonds, listening to the continuing noises. As he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of the door opening once again. Yami shut his eyes tighter, not wanting to see Heru'ur again when a familiar voice spoke up.

"Hey, kid, you awake?" Jack's voice hissed through the room. Yami's eyes shot open in relief.

"Jack, I can't believe you were able to escape! How did you get away from them?"

"Let's just say Jack can be one of the most annoying people in the galaxy when he wants to be." Daniel commented, racing forward to join Jack on Yami's other side as they worked on the bonds. When he was released, Yami fell to the floor, stumbling as his legs gave way under him.

Teal'c hoisted him up, Jack starting to reach for his other side when Seto suddenly was there, assisting Teal'c. Yami blinked, feeling as though his head was filled in cotton. The adrenalin rush from believing Heru'ur was going to kill him was fading and everything seemed to be getting fuzzier.

Although he tried to help, assuring the others that he could stand on his own, Teal'c and Seto were still supporting most of his weight as they moved through the halls. Mahad moved on ahead, casting more illusion spells as they ran through the halls. Finally, after what felt like hours, they burst out into the light. Instantly, Mahad pulled the group over to the side, behind some bushes.

Vaguely, Yami thought that they must have been very lucky not to have been spotted by the Jaffa guards at the entrance. As they knelt in the shrubbery, Mahad hastily spoke. Although he tried to focus, Yami found it hard to listen to everything that was being said.

"Although I cannot get us directly to the Star Gate, I can keep us hidden while we move there with Seto's help. However, we will have to stay in the shadows for the spell to work."

Next to him, Yami felt Seto shift, hearing him speak. "Unfortunately, the Star Gate in in an clearing, which means that we will be fully visible while dialing home, as you call it."

"So, Doctor Jackson, how fast do you think you can get the gate working?" Mahad asked, turning towards Daniel.

"Very quickly if I'm not being shot at." Daniel commented, already starting to ready himself to leave.

Jack looked around, making sure that they were all present before starting off, following Mahad's lead as the man lead them through the shadows.

Yami closed his eyes briefly, and the next thing he knew someone was gently shaking him.

"Yami? You awake still?" Jack asked, leaning over him. Looking up at the blurry image, Yami managed to nod.

"Yeah… I think so." Yami managed, voice sounding distant and far away.

Jack leaned closer. "Hey, Mahad. Get over here." A few moments later, Mahad's face joined Jack's.

"I think Heru'ur gave the kid something. We're never going to get past all of the guards at the gate with him in this condition."

Before he could hear Mahad's response, Yami felt himself slowly slip away and into his dreams.

* * *

Jack turned to look back at Yami and noticed that he had slipped into unconsciousness. If he had to hazard a guess, he would say that was not good.

Mahad was already looking Yami over, a panicked expression all over his face. "What's wrong with him?"

Carter moved over, motioning for silence as she began to look Yami over. Before she could speak, however, Seto spoke up.

"Poison. That's what's wrong with him."

Jack looked over, incredulous. "How do you know that it's poison?"

Seto gave him a superior look, "I've used poison enough times to know what it looks like."

Carter looked up from her examination, "He's right, Sir. Looks like some sort of poison. Heru'ur probably gave it to him to keep us from escaping. If we tried to leave with him, he would slowly worsen until we were either caught or were forced to return."

"Well, how long do we have?" Jack demanded, worried.

"Not long… perhaps if we could get him back to base right now, but unless we get past the guards he'll die."

Jack turned back towards the clearing, looking out over the vast expanse of Jaffa. Apparently Haru'ur didn't want to take any chances of their escaping. From the look of things, it was going to do its job.

Suddenly, before he could even turn to Mahad or Seto to ask for assistance that he doubted would be enough, suddenly a loud roar echoed through the clearing. If Jack had blinked, he would have missed the white dragon that appeared in the clearing. With another roar, the dragon opened its mouth and a burst of white light shot out. When his sight had cleared, Jack squinted back at the clearing to find it completely empty.

Daniel was the first to voice an opinion. "Wow… That was… amazing. Mahad, you were brilliant!"

Mahad, however, shifted extremely nervously, muttering, "That wasn't me." He glanced over at Seto, before looking away.

Jack decided that, as strange as the occurrence was, they shouldn't waste their luck.

"All right. Everyone gets through the gate, now!" he ordered, scooping up Yami with Teal'c help as they ran towards the gate. Daniel moved ahead, hastily inputting the Chevrons to return them to Earth. As they burst through the gate, Jack wondered whether the universe just had it out for him. Standing on the other side was General Hammond, waiting for word on how their mission had gone.

General Hammond's eyebrows rose as he saw the state of the returning party. Jack held a hand to forestall questions.

"Yami was poisoned by the Goa'uld. We need to get him to the hospital immediately."

Immediately, the Gate room was a hive of activity. Yami was rapidly taken to the infirmary and Jack was soon beset upon by General Hammond.

"O'Neil, what exactly happened?" he demanded, tone of voice leaving no room for evasion.

"Well, you see, Sir, we were exploring the world and collecting samples when we decided to cross over the hill near the Star Gate. We had been relying on the scans that showed the planet as being empty, however when we crossed over the hill we saw Goa'uld ships and quite a few Jaffa. As per your orders I immediately returned to get Yami through the Star Gate however they were there waiting for us. Heru'ur, who, by the way, is not dead, appeared. He apparently had something against both the kid and our allies. He seemed more upset at them than the kid, though, as he was going to torture Yami to make them suffer before killing them."

"So they know Heru'ur, and he obviously knows them." General Hammond mused. "Well, how did you get back?"

Jack steeled himself. "Actually we owe our escape in a major part to Mahad and Seto. They weren't kidding about being able to do magic with those items of theirs."

General Hammond nodded, turning towards Seto and Mahad only to find them gone. Jack stared at the now empty space as well; this was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! A lot of things happened, and if you have any questions about things feel free to PM us! I try to have a motivation behind everything in my writing, so there is probably a reason why characters act or don't act in a specific way. :D Please leave a review!**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Hey everyone! Here's more! Someone left a review so I am posting a chapter! :) Thank you so much for reviewing! It's nice to know people are interested in this. Only one update a day, but I will post when I get reviews (trying to motivate myself to post everything since we aren't even halfway through).**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen:**

 _The young boy was led through the halls, dejectedly. Mahad hadn't contacted him in four days, and the young prince was having more problems letting this friendship go than he had had before. He could tell that the others were worried about him as well. Shimon, his teacher, had decided to give him the day off even. Considering the fact that the short Guardian told him multiple times a day that his lessons were important to prepare him to rule Egypt under Lord Ra, to cancel even a day's worth was tantamount to the end of the world._

 _As he quietly followed the guards, the boy suddenly caught sight of a figure moving through the library, a tall boy with short brown hair. If he were to hazard a guess, the prince would guess that the boy was older by him by at least three years, if not more._

 _Hesitating as he remembered his last disastrous acquaintance, the prince slowly made up his mind to meet the newcomer. From the look of his robes, he was one of the priests in training to serve in the palace rather than under Lord Ra. Of course, before he could meet the boy, he would have to lose his guards…_

 _They continued around the corner at the end of the hall with the prince still trying to figure out a means of escape. His chance came when a group of Ra's personal guards came marching in the other direction. As his group moved to the side, the prince ducked behind one of the nearby pots, tiptoeing back the way they had come as the guards saluted the masked men. When he had slipped around the corner, the prince picked up his pace until he had entered the library._

 _Considering how often he slipped out of lessons, the last place anyone would think to look for him would be here. After hastily mussing up his clothes to look a little less pampered, the prince began trailing the older boy. At first he was ignored, but as time went by the other grew more and more irritated by his shadow._

 _Finally, the older boy spun around. "Is there something I can help you with?" he demanded coldly, eyes like blue chips staring down at the prince._

 _Although the cold look unnerved him, the prince pushed on. "What's your name?" he asked, trying to mask how scared he was._

" _Why should I tell you?" came the slightly curious response._

" _Well… Are you scared of telling me your name?" the prince asked, gaining confidence as he spoke. "Besides. You're new here, aren't you? Perhaps I could help show you around."_

 _The older boy simply glared at him. "In case you couldn't see, I'm busy at the moment. Now why don't you go off and play whatever childish games you want and leave me alone."_

 _Startled, the prince slowly backed away. Although he had been certain that he could befriend the boy, obviously his intuition was wrong in this case. Turning, he began to walk slowly towards the door._

 _A voice from behind him broke through his dejection, however. "Seto. My name is Seto."_

 _Although he didn't turn around as he left the library, the prince was smiling._

* * *

 _The dream suddenly changed, and Yami realized that he was floating in an empty void. He looked around although there was nothing to see. Eventually, growing tired of his bleak surroundings, Yami tried to move, only to find that he remained exactly where he had been._

 _Hours seemed to pass with him just floating there, although at times he thought he could hear faint noises around him. As hard as he tried, Yami couldn't remember how he had gotten here._

 _Suddenly, a figure walked out of the darkness in front of him, an urgent look on his face._

 _Blinking, a name suddenly came to Yami, exiting his mouth before he even realized he had spoken. "Seto…"_

 _Not even responding, Seto moved in front of him, speaking. Although the back part of his mind told him that he shouldn't be able to understand this language, Yami ignored it as he listened._

" _Do you remember it? What you've forgotten, do you remember?"_

 _Yami blinked in confusion. "What? What am I supposed to remember?" he asked, words in the same language slipping out as natural as though he were breathing._

" _What you forgot, your name. Do you remember it?"_

 _Blinking in confusion, Yami opened his mouth to tell Seto his name but the words stuck in his throat. Instead, he found himself saying something else. "I… I don't know."_

 _In the blink of an eye, Seto's entire expression changed. "You idiot human. I'll make you pay for that…" Seto's form began to grow again until it was swamped in the darkness, only a pair of red eyes that glared at him before a blast of flames suddenly shot towards him. Squeezing his eyes shut, Yami allowed himself to slip back into the unconsciousness that was lurking around him, gratefully sinking into oblivion even as the flames hit the region around him, hotter than even the sun._

* * *

Seto sat beside the bed in the infirmary, having sent Mahad away when the idiot had nearly worked himself up to hysteria over the boy's condition. Instead, Seto had volunteered to stay, although Mahad had practically forced him to promise that he would keep the mage informed as to Yami's condition.

The reason that he had professed to Mahad as his reason for staying was that Yami intrigued him, being stupid enough to get himself poisoned by Heru'ur of all people, not to mention his sudden ability to understand Egyptian. However, Seto had another reason that he barely would admit even to himself; in Yami, he saw something that reminded him of the Pharaoh. Not only did the boy's appearance mimic that of his former king's, but his propensity for both trouble and games was also similar.

Before he could think further on the matter, Yami suddenly spoke.

"Sy? M-m wi sp-psd n s-hE?" the boy spoke softly, murmuring the words with no detectable accent. "Wi…wi iri hm."

Seto leaned forward, finally believing Mahad's story. It was rather hard not to, after all, with the proof right before his eyes. However, Yami didn't say anything else, and when a nurse entered not long afterward to check him, she told Seto that he was looking much better and should recover momentarily.

Seto ignored her as she had nothing left to offer him, instead focusing on the boy in front of him. Something was up, all right. Although it should have been impossible, this boy was remarkably like his Pharaoh. Not to mention the appearance of her dragon without him summoning it. What should have been impossible was happening with too much frequency to be a coincidence.

Glancing around the room, Seto allowed himself one small show of weakness upon discerning its emptiness. "…Kisara?..." he whispered softly, listening as hard as he could. After a minute of no response, though, he shook his head. That alone was proof that he shouldn't let his imagination run away with him. Instead, he was going to figure out what was happening, and how it related to his dead king.

The pale skinned woman moved to stand directly behind him, tears appearing in her eyes as she reached towards him before drawing back. If she interfered too directly, even her status wouldn't save Seto from some terrible fate. As she stood there, though, tears dripped down her face at the loss of hope on Seto's face.

* * *

Jack paced outside of the infirmary, waiting for a response. When he had entered the room, the constant glare from Seto had driven him back out. The man was apparently concerned about Yami as well; according to the nurses, he had barely left Yami's side the entire time.

Finally, one of the nurses entered and exited hastily. Jack immediately intercepted her. "Well? How is he doing?"

"Mr. Mouto is going to be fine," the nurse said, "although I would recommend not letting him fall into the enemies hands. We were lucky to bring him back at all. When you returned with him, the doctors were certain that the poison had done too much damage. It's practically a miracle that he's still alive, and I wouldn't push your luck any further, Colonel."

Jack leaned back against the wall to allow the nurse to pass, relaxing at the good news. As soon as he was once again composed, he headed off to report fully to General Hammond.

When he reached the General's office, Jack knocked and waited for an invitation before entering. Closing the door behind him, he realized that Daniel, Carter, and Teal'c were already sitting and waiting for him. Across the desk, General Hammond leaned back and clasped his hands in front of him.

"Well, Colonel, why don't you tell me everything."

Taking a deep breath, jack began his explanation, careful to include more details than his brief overview of before. "Well, apparently when Apophis destroyed Heru'ur's Ha'tak Heru'ur decided to make a run for it, using Teal'c's departure as a cover for his own. Not to mention, he knew Seto and Mahad personally. I don't mean he'd heard of them, but he knew and hated them."

General Hammond nodded. "Did you get any idea as to why he was so angry at them?"

Jack shrugged. "Sort of. Apparently they had a hand driving both him and Ra off of Earth. That seems like it would do it."

"And what about Yami? Why would he separate the boy from the rest of you?"

Daniel spoke up. "I think I can answer that, Sir. I was able to talk to Mahad while we were trying to escape and I found out something interesting. Heru'ur mentioned that Yami looks similar to the Pharaoh who drove him out. Mahad agreed, although mentioned that he had been merely a prince at the time. Heru'ur apparently decided that Yami was a suitable substitute for his wrath, not to mention that he seemed to believe harming him would affect Seto and Mahad."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. I know it sounds a little crazy. Honestly, I'm even still having problems believing that Heru'ur is completely sane."

Before their talk could continue, one of the military personnel stuck his head through the door. "General Hammond, Sir?"

"Yes, private. What is it?" General Hammond asked, obviously a little annoyed at the interruption.

"Sir, a representative from the Japanese Embassy is here. Apparently he was asked to look into the disappearance of a Yami Mouto."

Jack bit back a curse. "Daniel… What did you say Yami asked his brother to do if he didn't call him?"

Daniel blinked, realization dawning, "He told him to call the Japanese Embassy if they didn't get back in touch within two days… You don't think?"

Nodding grimly, Jack answered Daniel's question. "Yeah… I do. We've been pushing him really hard recently, not to mention all of the excitement with traveling… I'm not surprised he forgot to call. "

"Indeed. Under the pressure he has been put under, Yami must have quite a strong spirit to be able to keep up with everything he has been through so far. If he was my son, I would be proud of him." Teal'c added, agreeing with Jack.

"Thank you, private. Dismissed." General Hammond ordered, already standing. As soon as the door was shut, he turned towards Jack and his team. "We have a problem on our hands. Yami is still in no condition to tell the Japanese Embassy that he is fine. Even if he was awake right now, they would likely believe he was being coerced due to his condition. We're going to have to stall somehow."

Jack thought about it before grinning. "I have a perfect idea."

Daniel groaned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about your good idea?"

* * *

Jack settled himself into the chair across from the Japanese representative. Leaning back, he placed his feet on the table and began examining his fingers with feigned interest.

Eventually losing patience, the man across from him leaned forward. "Why are you holding me here? It is my prerogative to speak to Mr. Mouto as soon as possible, a demand with which you must comply."

"Who again?" Jack asked, frowning.

Eyes narrowing, the man took a deep breath. "Mr. Yami Mouto, a Japanese citizen whom you have apparently kidnapped unless you can produce him."

"Oh… Riiiight. He's actually very busy at the moment. You know, though, it's very impolite not to give your name."

"My name is Hisao Takahashi. Now, if it would be okay with you, I would like to speak to Mr. Mouto."

"Hmm…" Jack voiced, pretending to be lost in thought. Finally he spoke again. "Well, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neil. You know what really bothers me, Mr. Takahashi? That there are no signs saying Colonel on my uniform. This means that in the field my own people seem to think they don't need to always listen to my orders. Wouldn't that bother you?"

The man across from him stared, apparently thinking that Jack had lost his mind. Finally, he managed a polite, "I suppose."

"Because you see, it's not really so much that they don't follow orders that bothers me. It's the fact that they seem to not do so deliberately. In fact, I don't know how I even manage to live with it."

Starting to look alarmed, the man leaned forward. "I'm sure it can't be that bad." He managed, eyes wide.

Inwardly, Jack was trying very hard not to laugh at the realization that this man thought he was talking about suicide.

"It's hard. Very hard. You know, there are some days when I'm not even sure if I'll make it through alive." Jack continued. Technically true, if you counted being attacked by Goa'uld.

He continued for hours, saying whatever came into his head until finally he glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Oh… Well, look at the time. I guess Yami just wasn't available. We've been showing him the compound, you see, and it's rather deep. I'm sure you'll be able to see him when you come back tomorrow."

The man slowly stood, face looking relieved in the way a man on reprieve from a death sentence looks. "Yes… Well I will be back tomorrow to talk to Mr. Mouto. If I do not see and hear from him that he is fine, I will be in touch with your government. Also, might I request a different guide tomorrow? Thank you, and good day."

Jack watched the man leave, inwardly laughing. "It was nice meeting you too." He called after the man as sincerely as possible.

Daniel entered the room. "That was… indescribable Jack. I am so glad that you hold back around us, or we'd all be driven mad."

Jack turned towards Daniel, noticing Teal'c standing behind him. "Hey, I'm not even completely sure I'm not mad. You saw what I saw, right?"

Daniel immediately picked up on what Jack meant. "You mean the dragon?"

"Yeah. What do you two make of it?"

Teal'c spoke up. "I think that it could be the actions of the ascended you mentioned was rebelling around our vicinity."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. It also follows our original assumption that she's helping Yami; without the gate being cleared, he might not have survived."

"Yeah, but something else is bothering me." Jack admitted. "Did you see Mahad's reaction? He's seen it before, and I could tell from his expression that Seto did as well."

* * *

 **If you want to know what Yami said, look to the previous chapter. I normally try to keep the language understandable if I think it is supposed to be to the character whose POV I am writing in, but in this instance I wanted to emphasize that he was speaking in Ancient Egyptian. :D As always, please review!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**So... What's going to happen with the Japanese Ambassador? Is there going to be a war? Find out in this, this next installation! On a more serious note, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! Please let me know how things go. Hope people like this! Just found out that everyone passed the course in my professional program, so feeling pretty excited! Almost 1/2 way done!**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen:**

Yami pulled himself out of the darkness, eyes slowly opening. Blinking in the sudden bright light, he squinted as he tried to determine where he was. A figure leaned over him, and a bright light was shone in his eyes. His hearing suddenly seemed to come back as a voice sounded above him.

"Mr. Mouto? You were apparently poisoned while on the last mission and are currently in the Infirmary. Can you understand me?"

Yami slowly nodded, feeling a little confused. Poisoned? When had that happened?

He tried to speak, only for nothing to come out. Before he could try again, a glass of water was placed to his mouth and he gratefully drank. When he was done, he pushed the hand away, surprised by how much effort it took. "What happened?" he asked, speaking up to be heard.

"It's okay if you're confused. Apparently Heru'ur gave you poison to ensure that SG-1 wouldn't be able to leave without you and, theoretically, with you. It's a miracle that you were brought back through the gate in time for us to give you the antidote. Thank God we've seen this poison before."

Yami blinked, vision slowly becoming sharper as he woke up more. "I guess I must be lucky…" he commented, managing a weak grin.

"Luck is not what I'd call it." The nurse muttered under her breath, already starting to check his vitals.

"So, when do I get to leave?" Yami asked, already feeling constrained by the small room.

"Not until you are completely better, and not a moment before. Now, if you'll just sit patiently, I'm going to go fetch the doctor so he can check you over."

Barely waiting until the nurses footsteps disappeared into the distance, Yami immediately was attempting to get to his feet. Before he could start to figure out the IV drip, however, a voice spoke from the corner.

"And where do you think you're going?" the voice drawled. Eyes widening, Yami spun around, meeting Seto's eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Yami countered, barely managing to suppress a shocked cry.

"Waiting for you to wake up. It was rather boring."

Temper spiking briefly, Yami retorted, "Well, you didn't have to stay if it was so boring."

"Hmm." Was the only response he received. For what felt like many long minutes Yami and Seto both stared at each other. Seto, much to Yami's surprise, broke the silence first.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" he asked, amiably. Yami felt some of the color drain from his face as he thought back to what he remembered from his dreams, although some of them had been very strange. There had been a dream with Seto in it, however… His luck couldn't possibly be that bad…

"No, I didn't know that. What did I say? It must have been interesting for you to mention it." Yami commented coolly, insides clenching in anticipation of Seto's response.

Seto's eyes never left his face. "Nothing much. Just wanted to make certain you were aware." He finished with a smirk.

Yami began to turn back towards the problem of getting out of the bed, figuring that Seto was apparently trying to waste his time. Before he could tackle the drip, though, Seto provided another distraction.

"Have you ever played a game called Senet?" he asked, and when Yami turned towards him he noticed a small board sitting on the bed although he was certain it had never been there before.

Cautiously, but curiously, Yami responded. "No… Why?"

Smirking once again, Seto began to set up the board. "Would you like to learn?"

Although he would have furiously denied it, Yami was already hooked. "All right." He responded, already studying the board.

* * *

The doctor had come and gone over an hour ago, and Yami and Seto were on their fifteenth game. Although Yami had come very close to losing the first game, as he had become more and more confident the games became closer and closer. Seto, much to Yami's delight, was a brilliant strategist and as they continued to move their pieces Yami was forced to think of one new idea after another to combat Seto's strategies.

"Have you ever heard of Duel Monsters?" Yami asked finally as he studied the board. Although he had met many very good players, including his grandfather and Yugi, Seto's grasp of strategy far outranked anyone he had met. Yami wasn't even entirely certain he would win a duel against Seto, at least not after Seto had learned the game.

Shrugging, Seto rolled the bones to determine his next move. "Not particularly. I've heard of it, but it doesn't sound particularly interesting. It's similar to a… game we used to play in Khemet, and I doubt it could compare."

"Perhaps not." Yami commented, "However it wouldn't hurt you to learn how to play."

Before he could continue, Jack poked his head around the corner. Yami watched him peer around the room before walking in.

"Hello Jack…. Is something wrong?" Yami asked, curious as to the man's strange behavior.

"No, not particularly… However, I could use your help."

"Really?" Yami asked, intrigued, "With what?"

"You'll see. Ready to get out of here?" Jack asked. Yami hesitated, glancing back at the Senet board… Only to find that it was no longer there and Seto was purposefully ignoring him. Yami looked at Seto speculatively. Apparently he only wanted Yami to play Senet with him… That or he only liked Yami out of the whole group…

Turning back to Jack, Yami nodded. "Where are we going?" he asked, thankful that the doctor had taken out the IV drip on his last visit.

"Well, you have a visitor." Jack commented. Yami frowned over at him.

"A what? Who? No one knows I'm here except…" Yami trailed off, eyes widening as he realized what he had been about to say. "Yugi… which would make my 'guest' a member of the Japanese Embassy."

"Yep; he showed up upon our return through the Star Gate. Now, we've managed to distract him while you recovered, but I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this up."

"How long was I unconscious?" Yami asked, curious as to how long they had been distracting the man.

"About four days, today. I distracted him the first day, convinced him I was suicidal apparently, and long story short he asked for a new guide. Now, on day one you were touring the compound. Then, while Sam was boring the man to death with quantum physics you were looking at Daniel's collection of Egyptian artifacts. I figured that's close enough to your interests to avoid added attention… Yesterday, while Daniel described his research in Egypt, you were sleeping in from exhaustion. Believable, what with your appearance right now, I suppose… As for today, we ran out of available personnel, so Teal'c is telling the man jokes as we speak. Now, the reason we're hurrying is that Teal'c cannot tell an understandable joke to save his life, knowing only jokes shared among the Jaffa."

Yami couldn't help but laugh slightly at the lengths that Jack and the others had been forced to go to. "So what was I doing before this?"

"Looking at plant and soil samples." At Yami's incredulous look, Jack paused briefly to give him a playfully exasperated look, "Well, I ran out of things to say… There's really not much for a teenager to do here." Yami laughed, and Jack amended what he had said. "Well, not that they know of, anyway."

Before he could ask Jack for more information, they arrived at the room and Jack pushed the door open. Inside, Yami heard Teal'c speaking.

"The Serpent guard's eyes glow. The Horus guard's beak glistens. The Setesh guard's nose… drips." Immediately the Jaffa burst into laughter, although the man before him was looking utterly convinced that the man in front of him was insane.

Stepping into the room, Yami cleared his throat. "Excuse me? I believe you wished to speak with me?"

The man stood up, relieved. "Yes. I am Mr. Takahashi, and I was sent by the Japanese Embassy to ensure your safe return to Japan as soon as can be arranged."

"I have no intention of returning to Japan as of the current moment." Yami said, hastily. "I believe that this is a case of miscommunication. I'm afraid that, when Jack and the others first came to get me, I was uncertain as to their intentions. Therefore, I called my brother, Yugi, in Japan and asked him to call the Embassy if I did not call him. As I'm sure you have heard, I have been kept very busy by my hosts and therefore forgot to call him to inform him that I was happy and healthy. Please forgive me for this oversight on my behalf."

Mr. Takahashi didn't look entirely convinced, however, Yami noted. "I cannot leave until I am certain as to your wellbeing." He insisted, giving Jack a suspicious look. Remembering what Jack had said earlier, Yami had to bite back a laugh that threatened to escape. Mr. Takahashi probably seriously thought Jack was suicidal…

"Is there anything I can do to assure you of my wellbeing?" Yami asked, unable to come up with very many acceptable alternatives to showing the man the Gate, which he knew was out of the question. Even as the man continued to look at him, Yami suddenly knew it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Seto strode through the halls, lost in thought. Not enough so, though, to avoid glaring at every individual who crossed his path. However, he soon ran into one person who didn't run as soon as they saw his expression.

Isis stopped in front of him, blocking Seto's path. Placing her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow. "Seto. How nice to see you. Was there something you wished to inform the rest of us of?"

"No. Not particularly." Seto responded, attempting to move around her. Isis stepped to the side to remain squarely in front of him.

"Well then, why don't you come tell us about your little… adventure with Mahad four days ago. He's been holed up in his room ever since, and no one's seen you."

"It's not my problem that you can't find me. Perhaps you should have looked harder."

Isis pursed her lips, grabbing Seto and dragging him down the hall with a surprising amount of strength. "You are going to tell us what happened, Seto, or I will get Mahad."

Although he snorted to show his nonchalance, Seto's mind was made up by the last statement. At least he could censor what he told Isis and the others… Mahad had no self-control, therefore would likely let everything slip. Seto had no intention of telling the others until he was certain… Plus, a small part of him wanted to keep Yami to himself while he got to know him. He hadn't had a challenge in quite some time, and from the boy's face he had the same thoughts.

They entered the room, and Isis released Seto's arm. The other Guardians looked up at their arrival, excepting Mahad who was quietly staring at the floor.

"Well?" Mana demanded, "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Seto replied shortly. Silent glares met his response, until Karim broke the silence.

"What is this nothing involve, then?" he asked, calmly pressing Seto for more details.

Seto began to talk, carefully reviewing everything he was saying to ensure that he didn't give anything away. "Well, Mahad decided that it might be a good idea to attempt to find out more about the human by getting closer to him. I had to rescue him from his stupidity, and in doing so got dragged through the Chapa'ai. There we met Heru'ur, who apparently still holds a grudge, although time has dulled his memory of our abilities..."

Even as he said that, Seto couldn't help but wonder whether Heru'ur truly had forgotten. Suddenly, their escape was a lot more suspicious than Seto had originally thought it…

He finished up, ignoring the incredulous looks from his companions. Finally, when he was done, Mana spoke.

"You mean that evil little…"

"Mana!" Mahad said sharply, startled out of his thoughts.

Smiling sweetly, Mana continued, "I was going to say jerk, Master Mahad. Either way, what did he want? We beat him so soundly the first time, you'd think he'd be ashamed to show his face again."

"Apparently not." Seto responded with a shrug.

"So, that was all you were doing, Seto?" Shada asked, frowning as he began to pace. "The problems this brings with it… We never considered what to do if we ran into them again."

"Kill them." Seto commented, stating the obvious solution.

Although he did he best to leave, Seto found that Isis was blocking his path to the door every time he started to make his break for the exit. In fact, it wasn't until almost an hour later that he and the others even noticed one of their members was missing.

* * *

As always, please review!


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Here's more! I really hope people like this so far! Sorry I was a little late posting this week. I just started a new round of classes and they are more tiring than I had thought.**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen:**

Yami quietly let himself into his room with a relieved sigh. After showing the man around, managing to describe Daniel's research to him, and explaining how apparently the US military had heard of his interest in Egypt and decided to show him their collection of artifacts Mr. Takahashi had finally decided to believe their story. Of course, he had demanded that Yami be allowed to contact him every other week.

As he turned away from the door, Yami practically jumped out of his skin.

"Soo…. What's so important about you, huh?" the girl asked, leaning in. Remembering her from the mall, Yami slowly let out the breath he had been holding.

"Ummm… Excuse me?" Yami asked, cautiously moving around the room as he began to put his things down. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? You know, Master Mahad I could understand, but Seto doesn't just take to people for no reason." Mana commented, face closed off and suspicious.

Shrugging, Yami turned back to fully face her. "I don't know, Mana. I'm sorry I can't answer your questions, but you would have to ask Mahad and Seto. Personally, Mahad is a good friend and while Seto just started to talk to me he knows quite a few games that I've never seen before.

Mana frowned, leaning closer. "I already know why Master Mahad is interested in you, but I can't figure out why Seto is. Why are you suddenly so special?"

Shrugging, Yami closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. A feeling of falling overwhelmed him the minute his eyes shut. Suddenly, he saw the sands of Egypt, with a young girl standing in front of him, smiling as she held up a frog for him to see. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor with Mana leaning over him, eyes wide.

"Are you okay? You're not sick are you? Are you going to die!?" she asked, not even giving him time to answer, voice starting to rise in hysteria at the end.

"No, of course not… I'm fine." Yami tried to reassure her,uncertain himself as to why he was caught off balance at the sight of her obvious panic.

However as he tried to stand, he realized that, not only had the day been longer than he had anticipated, but apparently the poison had depleted his strength as well. Instead, he managed to push himself up partially before slipping back to where he had fallen on the floor.

Mana was still leaning over him, eyes filled with a nameless terror that Yami couldn't even begin to guess at. However, while she was looking at him, it was as though she was looking through him at something, or someone, else.

"Umm… Mana, I don't want to trouble you too much, but do you think you could help me up? I must've hit my head when I fell." Yami commented, telling only a partial truth. While his head did hurt, indicating he had hit it when falling, that was certainly not the only reason he needed help.

Mana finally calmed down enough to help Yami onto the bed. Three minutes later. She hesitated, before slipping onto the bed next to him. Yami glanced over at her, curious.

"I've already told you what you wanted to know, unless there was more…?" he ended with a question, praying it wasn't more unanswerable questions.

"Nope. I'm done." She commented, continuing to sit still except for a slight bounce that set the bed in motion.

Yami was silent afterwards, head leaning back against the wall behind him. He was almost asleep when he heard a small sniff. Glancing over, he realized that Mana was silently crying, tears dripping down her face as she tried to be quiet. Before he could change his mind, Yami reached over, grasping her hand and giving it a small squeeze. She turned towards him, burying her face in his shoulder as her sobs began to rock her body.

Yami's eyes widened as he realized exactly how out of his depth he was… Rubbing Mana's back, he said. "Everything's going to be all right, Mana. You'll see…"

She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "Promise you won't leave me?" she asked, voice quavering.

It occurred to Yami to tell her that of course they would separate eventually and go their separate ways, but what came out was "I promised you, Mana, that I would never leave you."

* * *

Jack let out a relieved sigh. That was Mr. Takahashi dealt with… As he moved through the halls of the base, he realized something that he had overlooked the past few days. Yami had been alone with Seto for many days while the boy had been recovering from the poison. That wasn't the surprising realization, though; Jack didn't feel worried when he considered the thought of Seto and Yami alone in the same room. Perhaps it was Seto's… offered assistance on PX-44821 that had changed his mind, but for some reason he now saw the Goa'uld as being more human at least if not more trustworthy.

Wondering when things had gotten so difficult, he rounded the corner, barely managing to stop before running into Mahad. The Goa'uld glanced up at him, blinking.

"Colonel O'Neil… My apologies; I did not see you there."

Jack waved a hand in dismissal. "No problem." Starting to go around Mahad, he was stopped when the man turned towards him, obviously wanting to say something but reticent to do so for some reason.

"Was there something you wanted to tell me...?" Jack asked, trying to be patient even though he was eager to get to sleep.

"I just… wanted to ask you something." Mahad began, shifting uncomfortably, yet meeting Jack's eyes. "It's about Yami. Seto didn't want to tell you this as he would rather figure out the answer for himself, but something is wrong. He knows thing that only… that he couldn't possibly know. I can try to talk to him about it, but the more people who are watching out for him the better. You've noticed his ability to read Egyptian, but he can speak it as well. As fluently as a native speaker, too … I just want to ensure that… that nothing happens to him."

Jack frowned, "He can speak Ancient Egyptian as well as Daniel?" he asked, wanting to make sure his sleep deprived brain had told him correctly.

Mahad nodded. "Better than Doctor Jackson. As I said, he speaks the language as a native would."

Jack rubbed his eyes. Life never game him a break, did it? "Okay, and you're telling me why? We're not exactly on good terms with each other, and I believe that, had he wanted me to know this Seto would have told me himself. So… my question is why are _you_ telling me this."

"Because… I'm concerned about him. I believe it would be better if he had others looking out for him besides ourselves. Others who have knowledge of what is happening."

Nodding, Jack eyed Mahad speculatively. "I'm following you so far. You wanted me, specifically, because…?"

"Because you obviously care for those working under you, and they return those feelings. If you look out for him, I would be more assured of his safety. Neither Seto nor I can be watching him all of the time."

With that, Jack realized that, far from having some secret plan, Mahad honestly was worried about Yami. Apparently, Seto did as well. As hard as he was trying to remember that these were Goa'uld, Jack couldn't help but think of them as being human from their actions, at least regarding Yami.

"Of course I'll keep an eye on him. Tell you what; we can meet every so often to discuss what's going on. Secretly, of course, to avoid getting you in trouble with your friends. How does that sound."

Mahad's face morphed into an expression of relief. "That sounds perfect. Thank you very much, Colonel O'Neil."

"Oh… just call me Jack. The whole colonel thing is more for getting people to do what I want."

Nodding, Mahad glanced around before slipping off. Continuing on his way, Jack made a mental note to check Yami. If the boy could now speak Ancient Egyptian, something was going on. Apparently Yami was going to fit right into SG-1; his luck certainly seemed to match theirs.

* * *

The girl briefly checked on Seto, peering into the room to ensure that he was okay. After directly interfering to enable them to escape Heru'ur, she knew that she would need to keep her distance. The girl had been an ascended for long enough that, unless one of the Others caught her, they wouldn't merely be able to summon her before them. That was why she was going to have to avoid Seto until matters calmed down.

Smiling to herself, she moved through the halls, ignoring the beings around her. Even though she was going to have to try to lie low, she had at least already brought Seto and the boy together. For now, that was all she could do.

* * *

 **The plot thickens! Please Review, and thank you so much for reading!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Longest chapter yet! This one is 3,174 words on its own! :D I am so happy about that! Enjoy, and as always if there are questions let me know! Someone left a review, so I posted this chapter! Thank you so much for commenting!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen:**

 _The boy sat at the table, staring out the window as Master Shimon droned on and on about trade routes into and out of Khemet. Although he knew he should be focusing on what his teacher was saying, it was such a good day outside…_

 _With a start, the boy realized that he had been addressed. Hastily sitting up, he tried to pretend he had been listening. "Ummmmm…"_

" _I said, the lesson is over for the day." Shimon offered dryly, apparently deciding to help him out._

 _Eyes widening the boy shot out of his seat and toward the door, barely remembering to yell a thank you over his shoulder as he escaped the room for the fresh air outside. As he ran through the gardens, he was stopped by a call from behind him._

" _Excuse me, my Prince." Stopping, the boy turned around. Meeting Mahad's eyes, he carefully schooled his face, anxiety twisting his stomach._

" _Mahad…" he acknowledged, waiting for the mage in training to explain._

" _I… I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. I was surprised, and didn't react quickly enough to talk to you before you were led away, my Prince. These past few moons I have also been busy with my training and did not have time to find you. I am sorry for my delay…"_

 _Mahad bowed, and the prince stared at him for a few minutes before realizing that Mahad was waiting for him to speak._

" _I thought… I thought you were mad that I'd kept who I was a secret." He said softly, a feeling of hope rising within him._

 _Mahad's head shot up, an identical look of surprise written on his face, "Mad? Why would I be mad? You didn't tell me because you desired to be friends, not out of spite."_

 _A smile broke out across the prince's face as he stared at the boy in front of him._

" _Are we still friends, then?" he asked, feeling a rush of warmth._

" _Of course, Prince, if you still desire to be friends with me."_

 _Nodding, the prince took his friend's hand, already pulling him towards the door as he responded. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Mahad."_

* * *

 _Darkness roiled around him once again, carrying him in its lull. Although he knew that darkness wasn't tangible, Yami felt as though he was suffocating in it as he would in a river. Gasping for breath, he tried frantically to escape the despair that was crushing him as he tried to find anything that could help him._

 _As he struggled, a voice spoke. "What is it? You must know what it is!" Yami shook his head._

" _I don't know what you're talking about!" he responded, sounding braver than he felt._

" _Tell me!" the voice ordered, and with that darkness washed over him, filling his eyes and mouth and even as he began to choke_

Yami woke up, gasping for air. Staring around the darkened room, he sat there shivering. He rubbed his neck, trying to shove the dream to the back of his mind. As he moved to lie down, he felt a weight sliding down his side. Startled and still jumpy after his dream, Yami's eyes shot open as he turned towards the weight.

His face immediately flushed bright red as he realized what it had been. Mana was lying on his side, where she had cried herself to sleep. Yami hadn't been far behind her… Now, though, he was in a rather compromising condition. There was no means by which he could explain her presence in his room, and he doubted that very many would believe it was completely innocent.

As he shifted slightly to free his arm to wake her up, Mana shifted. Still asleep, she moved closer to him and Yami could see the faint lines of dried tears still on her face. He hesitated, however Yami knew that he wasn't going to wake her up now. Instead, he shifted to get more comfortable and, after ensuring that Mana was covered by the blanket, he closed his eyes once again. Yami sleepily thought about how familiar this was, almost as though he had done this before… Briefly, an image of Mana in nearly the same position appeared before his eyes, although the room was made out of sandstone instead of concrete. Before he could try to see more of the image, however, Yami drifted off to sleep, a small smile playing across his face.

* * *

Many thousands, if not millions, of miles away, Heru'ur knelt before Anubis. Although he was grinding his teeth, there was little that he could do about his current subservience. Allying himself with Anubis would ensure that he retained power after the partially ascended Goa'uld took over the remainder of the system lords.

He did not notice the girl as she watched the proceedings, attempting to discover their plans.

"Why did you reveal your presence to SG-1?" the cloaked figure asked, nothing visible of its face as the being sat in its throne.

"As I told you, Lord Anubis, there were two of their number who are extremely dangerous. I thought that if I could get rid of them, there would be no one who could stand in your way."

"Yet they got away, and now they know of you. How does that help me? You have now become more of a liability than an asset."

Bowing still further, Heru'ur spoke rapidly. "Please, Lord Anubis, I know these traitors. You will be hard pressed to defeat them without my assistance."

The girl watched as Anubis stood, seeming to tower over the Goa'uld kneeling before him. "Very well. I will allow you to live for the time being. However, you had better prove your use to me. Why do you consider these Goa'uld to be so dangerous?"

"As you are aware, my father liked to experiment with the creation of new weapons. These were some of the rejects of those experiments on Earth. They were born without the memory of what they were and were thus raised as humans. When my father was driven off of the Tau'ri world, they were instrumental in doing so. They served only one purpose; to act as prototypes for the weapon my father had desired; he later used the successful weapon to enact his revenge."

"What happened to this weapon?" Anubis asked, voice not changing although the girl could sense his interest.

"I'm afraid that when we cut ties to the world, connection with it was lost. My father called it Zorc, however, and according to what I have recently been able to determine it was destroyed or otherwise incapacitated. With all the work my father put into creating it, I doubt that the humans were able to destroy it. The most likely scenario is that it is still on Earth."

Anubis nodded, settling back down on the throne. "Very well. To prove your usefulness and convince me to allow you stay, you will find this weapon for me. In the meantime, you will collect as much information on it as you can remember and report to me. Understood?"

Heru'ur nodded, bowing once more before hastily retreating from the room. Eyes wide, the girl watched him leave. Things were much worse than she had first thought… She had to warn Seto!

Before she could leave, however, the faceless cowl turned towards her.

"Did you think to hide from me? I know who you are, and that you hide from the Others. Attempt to interfere with my plans, and I will ensure that their wrath is brought down upon you. Seto would be killed, likely by me, and you would be forced to watch. You wouldn't want that, now would you… Kisara!"

Kisara turned, fleeing from the dark laughter rising up behind her.

* * *

Yami slipped into the cafeteria, trying not to be noticed as he moved to get food before their mission. Getting some food on his plate, Yami moved off towards a table. Sitting down, he tried to slump down but was soon spotted. Mahad moved over, sitting next to him.

"Why were you so late? Colonel O'Neil was thinking about sending someone to get you." He asked, and Yami's face flushed. The truth was, Mana had taken quite a while to wake up, and while he had been trying to gently shake her awake she had wrapped her arms around him. Trying not to panic, Yami had tried to slip away only for her arms to tighten. When he had finally woken her up, she had still taken quite a bit of time to actually leave the room.

Even when he had finally gotten her to the door, they both had to wait until no one other than Yami's guards were in the hallway before she could slip out. He hadn't seen how, but he assumed she had done something similar to what Mahad did. For some reason, though, he didn't think Mahad would be very understanding about his student having spent the night in his room.

"I… slept in. I guess I was more tired than I thought." He managed, keeping his eyes glued to his tray.

A worried look crossed Mahad's face. "Are you certain you are up to going through the Chapa'ai? I am certain Colonel O'Neil would be willing to give you another day off…" Before Mahad could start looking for Jack, Yami hastily cut in.

"I'm fine, Mahad! I've had plenty of rest recently, and to be quite honest I don't think I could stand another day of nothing to do."

Apparently his expression was enough to get Mahad to settle down. Finally the other spoke. "Well, I hope you slept well."

Turning redder, if that was even possible, Yami nodded. "Yeah… what about you? How did you sleep?"

Mahad frowned. "I spent the whole night searching for Mana. I was informed that she did not go through the Chapa'ai, yet I could not find her anywhere in the compound. I suppose she must have been avoiding me…"

Yami kept his eyes trained on his plate as he nodded, wondering if it was possible to die of embarrassment or, barring that, sink into the ground. With all that he had seen, he figured that there had to be a means of disappearing into the earth on some world.

Suddenly, though, things got worse. Much worse… Mana plopped into the seat across from him, smiling widely.

"Good morning!" she practically chirped, and Yami could only stare, no thoughts in his mind other then how much trouble he was going to be in with Mahad…

"Mana! Where have you been?" Mahad demanded, looking both relieved and annoyed. "I spent the night looking for you!"

Mana merely grinned at him. "Oh, come on Master Mahad. I don't need to tell you where I'm going to be all the time. I thought you got over that around four thousand years ago."

Mahad glared, irritation taking over as he apparently realized that his student was fine. "In case you hadn't noticed, Mana, we're not exactly home. You can't behave like you do normally."

Rolling her eyes, Mana opened her mouth to answer when Yami saw Jack standing. Immediately he was on his feet. "Looks like Jack and the others are ready to head out. I'll see you later, Mahad… Mana…" Turning, he practically ran over to join the SG team.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What happened? You look as though you went to your girlfriend's house and had to sit with her father for an hour or something."

Yami shuddered. "Not quite, but close."

Jack leaned in, "So what happened?" he asked quietly, and Yami was grateful for his discretion as they moved through the halls towards the gate room.

"Well… it's hard to explain. I just don't think Mahad would have approved." Yami confessed, not ready to tell Jack the details of the previous night's events.

"Hey, kid, trust me. Whatever it is, I think Mahad will be able to forgive you for it. He seems to really like you."

Yami nodded as they reached the gate room, glad to see that none of the Goa'uld were waiting. Perhaps they were busy, but Yami was relieved at the separation. The feeling of familiarity he felt toward them was growing, and he needed time to decipher how he felt about them. In front of him, the gate expanded outwards and Yami followed Jack and the others through the gate and into a new world.

* * *

Jack followed the group back through the gate, relieved that for once in his life nothing had gone wrong. Instead, they had spent an entire afternoon studying the actually empty world and discovering all sorts of exciting new plant life… 'Exciting'… Yeah, in other words, it had been boring.

At least Yami had gotten to experience at least one normal mission, however. In a way, Jack was grateful for that. It meant that Yami at least had some regular field experience. The next time something went wrong he'd be better prepared. Jack was almost amused, in a cynical fashion, that he didn't even think to consider that nothing would go wrong in the next mission.

Daniel and Yami were the first down the walkway, laughing over something Daniel had told the boy. Carter, following them, was bent over one of her thingummies that told her stuff about the planet's Naquedah supplies, if it had any.

As Jack finished filing down the walkway, General Hammond opened up the connection through the loudspeaker. "Great job, SG-1. Major Carter, we have a visitor here who'd like to see you."

Another voice came on over the loudspeaker, "Hey, Sam. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Dad!" Carter cried, racing towards the door. Yami looked confused.

"I thought that our families weren't supposed to know about the Star Gate program?" he whispered to Daniel. Jack, already starting to follow Carter, overheard Daniel's response.

"Well… Jacob's sort of a special case… It's hard to explain." Laughing to himself, Jack exited the room. Oh, Jacob could definitely be termed as a special case.

Instead of heading straight for the room, he meandered down the hall to give Carter some time alone with her father. The two didn't have much time together, after all.

When he finally arrived at the room, Carter and her father were laughing at something he had said. "You really said that?" Carter asked, looking scandalized even as she was almost close to tears.

"Yes. They weren't happy, but since Selmak and I speak with one voice in the council they had to listen." Jacob responded, wiping away tears of his own.

"So, what did I miss?" Jack asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Nothing much, Sir. The Tok'ra sent Dad here to meet our new allies as a show of good faith." Carter responded, smiling back at her father. Sometimes Jack was still surprised by how far their relationship had come since Jacob had learned about the Star Gate.

Jack managed a small smile in Jacob's direction, but that was all he had time for before Daniel and Yami arrived at the door. Before anyone could speak, Selmak suddenly took over Jacob, moving to stand in front of Yami. Looking him up and down, he finally spoke.

"How is it that you still walk this planet? We had though you long dead."

Yami blinked, looking confused, "Excuse me? Have we ever met before?"

Jack hastily stepped forward. "Hey, easy there Selmak. This is Yami, one of our new allies, although not the ones we originally wanted you to meet. The kid is fifteen, not thousands of years old and he certainly shouldn't be dead."

Selmak blinked, backing down. "I am sorry. You resembled a person I once knew. Please, accept my apology."

Yami nodded, looking a little unsure. "It's fine. I've been told that a lot recently."

Jack moved forward, sensing Yami's continued unease. "Well, I think it's time you met some of the representatives from our new allies." As he spoke, he motioned to the guards outside the door. "Meet Mahad, Isis, and Akhenaden."

Selmak frowned, noting their appearance. Instead of immediately moving to greet them, he seemed almost reluctant. Instead, Jacob took over and moved forward, smiling. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jacob, Selmak's host."

"His host?" Mahad asked, hesitating as he stared at Jacob's outstretched hand.

"Didn't they explain about the Tok'ra to you?" Jacob asked, frowning.

Jack intervened. "Well, Jacob, we haven't exactly had the time recently."

Carter finished the explanation. "The Tok'ra are a race of symbiotes, similar to the Goa'uld, except that they only take willing hosts. "

Jacob nodded. "Before Selmak would choose me, he wanted to get to know me first, to make certain I was truly willing. I've heard that you are goa'uld, but apparently without the race memory, or at least different from other goa'uld. So, how did you choose your hosts exactly? Just curious." He added, raising his hands in the universal gesture of peace.

Isis spoke. "We were born without the goa'uld "race memory" as you call it. As for how we came to be… when Lord Ra was in Khemet, he decided to experiment with the people there. We are the result of such experiments."

Jack raised an eyebrow. This was new… apparently their new allies knew more than they were letting on about Ra's stay in Ancient Egypt. Well, that wasn't such a big surprise, actually, although Jack was certain that Daniel was pretty annoyed at the withheld information.

Jacob nodded, smiling and the remainder of the conversation was polite, if stilted. Finally, the goa'uld begged business and departed. Yami followed after they were gone, professing a desire to explore more of the compound on his own.

As soon as everyone was gone, Hammond entered the room. Jacob collapsed into a chair with a sigh of relief. "Wow… That was far more intense than anything I've had to do recently, and that includes confronting the Tok'ra council with Selmak."

"Dad, what exactly happened there?" Carter asked, leaning forward with expressions of curiosity and concern warring for dominance across her features.

"Selmak has apparently seen, or at least heard of them before. He's still in… Can they go into shock? Because if so, that describes him exactly right now."

Jack frowned, leaning back in his chair. If it had been just the goa'uld, he could've understood, however Selmak's response to Yami's appearance was startling.

"What can Selmak tell us?" General Hammond asked, leaning forward curiously.

Shaking his head, Jacob leaned back. "Nothing right now. He's thinking over what happened, I believe. He'll probably explain it later. In the meantime, I get to spend some time with my daughter."

Carter smiled, and Jack got to his feet. "Well, let me know if anything happens." He commented before leaving the room. Yep… Ever since the goa'uld had shown up, the ordered reality he had known was spiraling out of control. At least that made life more interesting.

* * *

 **More action starting up next time! :D Thank you to everyone reading, and please leave a review!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Hello! The start of a new plot line! I hope everyone likes where the story is going so far, and as you can see, Yugi will be making an appearance soon! Sorry for those of you who really like Yugi, but he isn't a huge player in this story as I focus more on Yami's connection with his Guardians. For the (planned) sequel, I intend to have him in a much bigger role! Not going to lie, but I am worse at writing Yugi and his friends, so I hope you like my portrayals of them in the upcoming chapters! Once again, I am posting thanks to a review, so if you want to see more quickly, continue to post reviews for rapid(ish) chapter releases!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen:**

Yami was about to head back to his rooms when suddenly one of the many military personnel came up to him, nodding a greeting.

"Mr. Mouto? There's a Yugi Mouto on the line to talk to you." Yami frowned. He and Yugi had arranged, through Mr. Takahashi, to talk once a week on Yami's cellphone. However, since he didn't get reception this far underground, Yami had given Yugi the number for the base to ensure that if there was an emergency Yugi could reach him. Of course, he had received permission first, which made the call all the more urgent. Almost running, Yami followed the man into the General's office, where General Hammond was waiting for him.

"Well, son. Here you are." He commented, handing Yami the phone. Quietly taking it, Yami spoke into the phone.

"Hello? Yugi?"

"Yami! Yokatta! Anata wa sugu ni kitaku shinakereba naranai. Nanika wa Pegasus ga naniwoshita ka no yō ni, detekuru yo! Watashi wa hōhō ga wakaranaiga, kare wa ne... [1] "

Suddenly, there was a click on the other line and static before the familiar dial tone.

"Yugi?!" Yami called, eyes wide. Frantically, he didn't even bother answering General Hammond's questions as he grabbed for the phone base, frantically redialing, barely remembering to change the area code to Japan.

All that answered him was ringing, however, and no one picked up the phone. He slowly lowered the phone back into the cradle, finally hearing General Hammond's questions.

"Is everything okay, son? You look as though you've seen a ghost. I hope it's not bad news."

"I have to go home, now." Yami interrupted, already trying to think about how early he could get a plane. Not bothering to respond, he picked up the phone again and hastily dialed the number for Industrial Illusions.

"Hello? Industrial Illusions, how can we help you?" a female voice spoke, and Yami immediately responded. "This is Yami Mouto, I want to speak to Pegasus now, or if he's not available please tell him to call me as soon as possible."

There was a brief moment of silence on the other end, before the woman spoke once again. "Mr. Pegasus is available, if you will wait for me to transfer you over."

Yami waited impatiently, tapping his foot. Soon, he heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Yami-boy! So nice to hear from you! So, what is it I can do for you?"

"Pegasus, I need a plane to Domino city as soon as possible." Yami told him, not bothering with being polite. From Yugi's call, something was very wrong. "I can be in Denver in an hour, do you think you can have a flight ready for me by then?"

"Of course, Yami-boy. Of course, you will owe me, but for now I'll just send my personal jet over to get you. Expect it in two hours. Now, was that all?"

"Yes… Thank you Pegasus. I'll pay you back as soon as possible."

As he was hanging up, Yami heard Pegasus musing, "Well, there is that tournament I'm going to be holding soon…"

General Hammond was by now on his feet. "Son, is everything all right?"

Yami looked towards him, a feeling of almost detachment taking over. "No… I have to go home immediately. Something's wrong and I can't reach Yugi."

"Are you sure that it's really serious? Is it your grandfather again? We have records of a hospital stay for him recently, but no cause for it other than a coma."

"No… It's not quite like that." Yami managed, feeling a tightening of his gut as he was reminded of Yugi's message. "I just have to leave as soon as possible."

After giving him a penetrating look, General Hammond nodded. "Very well. I'll give the order to have one of the vans prepared. For your safety, it would probably be best if SG-1 accompanied you."

Yami was barely aware of what he said, already nodding as he headed out the door. As soon as he had left the room, he began hurrying towards his own room. He didn't have very much to gather together, however at least he would feel as though he was doing something.

When he arrived back at his room, he pushed open the door to find Mahad waiting for him. Seeming to notice Yami's turbid emotions, Mahad frowned.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, moving out of Yami's way as the teen began to hastily shove his things into his bags.

"Yeah… It's just that something's come up at home. I'm not sure how bad it is, but… Well, Yugi and I have a…'code' of sorts." Yami commented, lying through his teeth. "He told me that something was wrong, and in such a way that if we were being bugged no one else would know."

Mahad blinked, a concerned look crossing his face. "What kind of danger?" he asked.

Yami frantically thought as he shoved his bag towards the door, clothes still sticking out rather haphazardly. Finally, thanking General Hammond, he responded. "Well, apparently my Grandfather has fallen ill. He was in a coma a few months ago, and he might have had a relapse. Yugi wasn't very specific, but he tends to panic."

Nodding, Mahad headed for the door. "Very well, I'll give you some time alone then…"

If Yami's story about his Grandfather had been true, he might have asked Mahad to stay. As it was, he was too concerned with figuring out who it could possibly be this time to focus on having a conversation. When the van came, Yami got in, feeling as though he was the only one, although he knew that the SG team was also in the van. He remained in a mental fog until they reached the Denver airstrip and Pegasus's jet, whereupon he realized that not only had Jack and the others come along, but apparently Jacob, Seto and the rest of the goa'uld had come as well.

However, there was nothing to be done about it now, and so when they boarded the plane they did so with nine extra people. Leaning against the window, Yami tried to relax as the plane took off; there would be nothing else he could do until they reached Domino city.

* * *

Jack yawned as they debarked from the plane. "So… where to now?" he asked Yami. The kid seemed pretty out of it, only responding vaguely to direct questions. The closer they had gotten to Japan, however, the more he had focused his attention forward, towards where they were heading.

Yami was already heading towards the exit, bags trailing behind him as he began trying to hail a cab. Before he could, however, a limo suddenly pulled up in front of them. Even Yami started in surprise when the driver got out, opening the door and motioning them in.

"Are you from Industrial Illusions?" he asked, very suspiciously. Jack glanced over at that; in the entire time he had known the kid, Yami had seemed fairly trusting, or at least was very good at hiding any mistrust. Now, however, he sounded as though he was expecting an ambush… Yet they were here about his sick Grandfather… Something wasn't adding up.

"No, Sir. I am here on the request of Mr. Kaiba."

Seto moved forwards, smirking. "Very good, Roland, wasn't it?"

"Yes Sir." The chauffeur, apparently named Roland, responded, bowing.

Yami apparently needed no further proof as he slid into the limo, with Daniel following him. When it was Jack's turn, his jaw dropped.

"How did you get this?" He demanded, staring around the sleek interior.

Seto shrugged, smirking. "Apparently money can get you quite a bit." Eyeing him for the first time since they had left, Jack realized that the long trench coat that the goa'uld was wearing had definitely not been issued by the military. Instead, it had been designed to make Seto stand out, more so than Jack was really comfortable with himself, and he was human.

However, he couldn't say anything, at least not in front of Yami. If the poor kid's Grandfather was dying, he didn't want to be too insensitive. Instead, Jack had to settle with giving Seto a glare that promised a later talk. Which the man ignored!

Roland turned, speaking through the divider. "Where should I take you, Mr. Kaiba?" he asked, and Yami immediately responded.

"Do you know the Kame Game Shop?" Yami asked, leaning forwards to avoid yelling. Roland nodded, rolling up the divider. Soon, the limo was threading its way through the traffic of the city. They had barely pulled up in front of a small yellow building with a red roof when Yami all but jumped out.

Jack leapt after him, following him up to the door as the kid first tried the shop door. Although he certainly couldn't read Japanese, the hours next to the door were easy to read; according to them, the shop should have been open.

Yami fumbled keys out of his bag, hastily opening the door to the shop. Running in, the kid dropped his bags by the door.

"Yūgi? Yūgi! Doko ni imasu ka. Ojīchan? Sore wa, Yami no watashidesu. Dete oide[2] !" he called, moving through the house frantically. Following him, Jack noticed the phone hanging out of the cradle, almost touching the floor. The rest of the house was in extreme disarray, almost as though someone had been searching for something.

"Ojīchan?" Yami called, moving to look upstairs. Jack stopped him, however, before he could get very far.

"Yami… Look around. Someone's tossed your place looking for something. I don't know if its connected to your Grandfather's illness or if this was the cause for your brother's call, but until we know what's up there I can't let you go."

At first Jack thought Yami was going to try to pull away, and he readied himself for a fight. Instead of arguing, however, Yami nodded. Releasing a breath he hadn't even known he was holding, Jack motioned for the others to join them.

"So, exactly what is happening? This place doesn't look like a sick person's house. It looks like someone was looking for something." Jack softly asked Yami, trying to keep his voice somewhat down as he signaled for Carter and Teal'c to check the upstairs.

"I…" Yami didn't finish, instead watching as the two military personnel moved upstairs. Jack also turned to watch, waiting until Carter called down.

"There's no one here, Sir. It's the same as downstairs, though. The whole place is trashed."

"Indeed. It looks as though a wind tunnel had spun through." Teal'c commented, causing Jack to mentally hit his head into the wall.

"That would be a whirlwind coming through, Teal'c." He called before turning back to Yami. "So, care to tell us what is going on? The more we know, the more we can help."

Yami shook his head. "No… This is my problem. I don't want to pull you into something that doesn't concern you, especially as it is likely to be dangerous."

Raising an eyebrow, Jack looked at the kid incredulously, "So… More dangerous than facing down world destroying snakes who can control people's minds? Or am I the only one seeing some disconnect here?"

Staring at the ruin around him, Yami didn't immediately speak. Finally, he softly spoke, this time not out of a need to be quiet but from emotion. "After Duelist Kingdom, I swore that I wouldn't let anything happen to Grandpa or Yugi again. It was all my fault then, and from the looks of it, this is too."

Jack stared at him, unsure of what to say for once. Normally he would just try to joke off the tension, however he sensed that that wasn't the response Yami needed.

Suddenly, to Jack's immense surprise, Seto spoke. "Why is it your fault, pray do tell? I doubt you arranged for this to happen."

Yami shook his head. "No, but they wouldn't have come here if it weren't for me. All of this mess… They were searching for this." One hand moved down to cradle the golden puzzle hanging around his neck. Jack had almost forgotten about the puzzle, which was the reason the boy had joined their team in the first place.

"You mean, they know how powerful the puzzle is?" he asked, carefully.

"No. Others have come after it before for various reasons. It was written on the box it came in that the completion of the puzzle was supposed to grant the person who solves it one wish, or the power of darkness. Grandpa could never fully translate it… Pegasus devised Duelist Kingdom as an attempt to transfer ownership of the Millenium Puzzle to him by defeating me. To do so, he… that's the reason my Grandpa was in a coma last year. Whoever this is, they won't stop at going after Yugi and Grandpa, they'll likely go after our friends too…"

Jack stared at the boy, jaw slightly open with shock. He had thought Duelist Kingdom was a good event, one in which Yami was able to gain worldwide recognition in his game… Duel whateveryoumacallit. Not a game where the boy was playing for his grandfather's life, not to mention his brother's. Suddenly, quite a few things became clear, including his specific mention of the tournament when warning Yugi over the phone when they had first met.

Mahad moved forward. "We can help you rescue your Grandfather and your brother. I can use my heka to find them."

Yami shook his head. "Yugi would never forgive me if something happened to our friends because I was searching for him. We have to go check on Joey, Tristan, and Tea first. Then we can find Yugi and Grandpa. They won't try anything until they have the Millenium Puzzle, which means we have the upper hand at the moment."

Jack nodded, thinking things over. "Well, let's go check on your friends, then. The sooner the better, I suppose. Who knows; perhaps we can discover where your grandfather and brother are from them. If they went into hiding or something instead of being taken by someone, your friends might know where they are."

Yami turned towards the door, a small nod indicating his acceptance of Jack's supposition, although he didn't look like he believed in it. Sighing, Jack followed after him. Oh well… At least it was something other than goa'uld this time.

* * *

[1]Yami! Thank goodness! You have to come home right away. Something's come up, like what Pegasus did! I don't know how, but he's..."

[2]Yugi? Yugi?! Where are you? Grandpa? It's me, Yami. Come out!

* * *

 **Well, what do you think? You'll know the villain for this 'arc'! Let's see who can guess! Leave your thoughts in a review!**


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**New chapter! Hope everyone enjoys where this is going! Please review!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen:**

Seto followed the group as they moved down the streets. Yami had decided the limo would be too noticeable now that they were moving through the city, a decision Seto agreed with. He had gone through great pains to ensure that his identity as Seto Kaiba was kept hidden, and the use of a limousine would put him in a spotlight. If they hadn't needed it to leave the airport, he would have avoided using it.

Instead, they walked along the crowded sidewalks. Finally, after what felt like hours of wading through humans packed like grains of sand, they arrived at a large building. Yami led them up a few floors before stopping in front of one of the doors and knocking.

"Joey? Are you home?" he called, listening to the sounds from inside. There was a brief shattering sound before the door was opened by a breathless Joey.

"Hey, Yami! Where've ya been, buddy? Ya know, Yug's been missin ya since you disappeared. We all have; well, except for Chouno. Whend'ya get in?"

Seto was once again very glad he'd learned Japanese. The boy's speech was so atrocious that unless he understood the regular language, he would have had no chance of understanding the boy's strange speech patterns.

Yami managed a smile, although it looked a little strained to Seto.

"Hey Joey. Have you seen Yugi anywhere? I came home and he and Grandpa weren't at the game shop, so I figured I would ask if Yugi had told you where he was going to be going."

Joey frowned. "Nah. I haven't heard from Yug for a few days now. Perhaps Tea will know."

Yami let out a deep breath. "Thank you Joey. We'll try her next, then. See you later."

Joey nodded, turning over his shoulder as he shut the door to yell at someone else in the apartment.

"Oy, Pops, can't you take care of yourself for a minute?" Before he could finish, the door had shut and Seto turned away. As he started back towards the stairs, he could hear one of the humans asking Yami a question.

"Is his father… I mean, is he abusive."

The pensive response was "I'm not sure, exactly. Yugi and I believe so, however Joey has never said anything directly to us and it seemed rude to pry into a matter like this. Joey has always been able to take care of himself, and proud of that fact. When we were at Duelist Kingdom, he won the second prize to save his sister's eyesight."

Silence followed as they moved down the stairs, and soon they were once headed down the street, this time into a street lined with houses instead of apartments. As they followed Yami, Seto suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. At the next sidestreet, Seto ducked into the shadows and waited to see who it was.

However, much to his surprise, he heard a voice behind him.

"Seto." Came the feminine voice, familiar but for the sadness lacing the word.

Slowly turning, he voiced his thoughts without even realizing that he had spoken. "Kisara…"

She smiled at him, white hair blowing in a breeze Seto couldn't detect. Despite the chill in the air she didn't seem bothered although she was dressed in the same rags she had been worn in Khemet.

"But, how…?" he managed to get the words out past the rising emotions.

Shaking her head, she raised a hand to forestall more questions. "Seto, there isn't much time. I have been watching you all these years, wishing that I could reveal myself. Unfortunately, there are rules that I didn't dare to break until now, when the consequences are so dire. There is much I have to tell you, and very little time in which to do so. The Others could find me at any second, so please listen."

Seto nodded, heart aching at the sight of her full of life. An image of the last time he had seen her, covered in dirt and blood, flashed through his mind.

"There are great powers at work, powers which you faced five-thousand years ago. Anubis, the Goa'uld lord, is partially ascended. He has Heru'ur's loyalty, and now knows of Ra's weapon, Zorc, the Dark One. It is his intention to reawaken Zorc, however there is much that he doesn't know. Zorc is already attempting to awaken; as his power grows, he can affect more and more of the land around where he was imprisoned. Soon he will be able to move freely on this planet."

Seto stared at her in dawning horror. Zorc had barely been beaten the first time, and not without great loss. If he was reawakened, there would be no hope for this planet, not to mention any others Zorc managed to reach through the Chappa'ai.

"However, there is hope still. The boy, Yami,is the Pharaoh's ba and ka reunited and reborn. However, his memory is still sealed. Without it, Zorc cannot fully reawaken, but nor can he be defeated. You must help him, Seto! Be his friend, for he will need you more than you know. In return, perhaps he can help you…"

Seto reached for her, scarcely believing what she was saying. "How can I be certain it is him, Kisara? Or if any of this is true?"

"You will know. You already do, but cannot accept that it might be true because if it is, then you will have to open your heart, allow it to possibly be hurt again." Kisara whispered, allowing him to pull her into an embrace which she gently returned.

"If you still need proof, however, shadow magic has returned enough to allow for the summoning of a ka into this world. Mahad's sacrifice did more than he thought possible, the reason why he was able to readily believe. You'll have to find your proof, Seto. I've told you all I can."

Stepping out of his embrace, he was startled to see tears in her eyes. "I've overstepped my bounds, and now will be called to atone for my actions. I can only pray that I did more good than harm. Goodbye, Seto. Farewell!" Even as she finished speaking, she gasped and disappeared. One shining tear fell through the air before disappearing into the ground.

Seto didn't realize he had moved until he saw his outstretched hand. Slowly lowering his arm back to his side, he clenched his fists. Who did these 'Others' think they were, to take Kisara away when he had only barely gotten to see her again. All the joy he felt at having his faint suspicions about Yami confirmed was tempered by losing Kisara. Again. He took a deep breath, pushing his emotions down under a calm mask.

Kisara had risked everything to warn him about Zorc, and as much as it pained him to lose her, he wasn't going to let her sacrifice go to waste, no more than he had the first time. Moving out of the shadows, he rejoined the rest of their group, determination setting in. This time, although he couldn't save Kisara, he wouldn't fail his king.

* * *

Yami knocked on Tea's door, noticing Seto rejoin the group. The man had ducked out somewhere, for some unknown reason. Whatever it had been, Yami figured he would have mentioned it if he had seen someone following them. Although he could feel Seto's stare on his back…

The door opened and soon Tea's mother was peering out.

Smiling, Yami began to speak, "Hello, Mrs. Mizaki, I was wondering if Tea was home. May I please speak with her?"

Tea's mother smiled at him. "Ah, Yami! It's been a while since we've seen you over here. Recently it's been just Yugi who comes to visit." Here her face twisted into a frown. "However, I'm surprised you came here looking for Tea. She called us a couple nights ago to say that she would be staying at your house to work on a project with Yugi. Didn't you see her when you were home?"

Immediately a sinking feeling hit Yami, although he managed a smile for Mrs. Mizaki's sake. "Actually, I was home but Grandpa said that Yugi was out with friends. I assumed he was here, but if he and Tea were working on a project they're likely at the library. Sorry for bothering you."

"No, it's fine. Have a good day, Yami." Closing the door, she disappeared back into the house. Yami slowly turned away from the door, addressing Jack.

"Well, it looks as though they must've taken Tea, as well… I don't know why they would take her and not Joey…. Perhaps she was at the house when they kidnapped Yugi and Grandpa."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "or perhaps they thought that you might be… emotionally compromised if she was taken. You know… more so than for a male friend…"

Yami blinked at him, face heating up as he realized what Jack was insinuating. "Nonsense. Tea can take care of herself just as well as Joey can. We're just friends, and I highly doubt she would think of me that way. Besides; Yugi likes her, and I would never do that to him."

Nodding, Jack turned back towards the street as they began to make their way back in the direction they had come from. "Well, they might think that, whoever 'they' are."

Yami nodded, turning back onto one of the busier roads. He had barely gone five meters down the road when someone approached him.

"Excuse me, I was asked to give this to you." The man spoke, and Yami spun, staring at the balding, middle aged businessman standing there, holding out a piece of paper. Blinking Yami slowly took it from him.

"Are you certain it is for me?" he asked, warily eyeing the man in front of him. Although winning Duelist Kingdom had made him famous, his fame mostly lay with his generation and the few adult dueslists. From the looks of things, this man didn't often play games, let alone duel.

"I was told to give this to you." The man insisted, holding out the paper. Yami slowly took it, even as Seto moved forward defensively.

"Who told you to give this to us?" He demanded, glaring at the man, "What did he look like?"

The man blinked, frowning in sudden confusion. "I don't remember what he looked like… What am I doing here again?"

Before the man could panic, Jack hastily stepped forward. "Sorry we bothered you, mister. We'll just be on our way, then."

He immediately began herding the group off, and as soon as they were away Yami opened the folded note.

"I have your Grandfather, Yugi, and your friend. If you want them returned unharmed, meet me at the docks tomorrow at sunset." He read aloud for everyone to hear, although he did make one small adjustment. The time. The actual note said mid-day, however Yami had made up his mind. Whoever had done this was dangerous… More dangerous than Pegasus. If worst came to worst, he didn't want his new friends getting hurt.

Jack nodded. "Righto… That gives us time to prepare then. Don't worry, kid. We're very skilled at rescue missions; I'm certain we can get your family back safely. Your friend, too."

Yami nodded, holding back his worry and concern. Instead, he turned back in the direction they had been heading in before being intercepted by the man. "Well, we still have to check on Tristan and ensure that he also hasn't been kidnapped."

The others followed him, and Yami caught Seto watching him closely. He managed to keep a poker face on, although he was certain that Seto knew about his lie. Instead, the group quietly moved forward.

* * *

 **Well, you've probably guessed who is behind this, but you will see for sure next chapter!**


	21. Chapter Twenty

The answer to all is revealed! :D JK,but I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Someone reviewed, so another chapter is posted! Please review, and thank you to everyone still following this!

* * *

Chapter Twenty:

The boy lay on his back, staring up at the skies. Mahad was supposed to have shown up, and the fact that he hadn't likely meant that something had come up in his magic lessons. Things were coming up more and more often for his friend; if it wasn't one of the teachers testing him for rapid advancement, it was Lord Ra. Apparently Mahad's rapid advancement hadn't gone unnoticed by the gods, and while the boy was proud of Mahad's achievements, at the same time he worried that they would pull the older boy away from the Palace.

He was broken out of his musings as a shadow suddenly crossed over his face. Opening his eyes, which he had closed while thinking, his crimson eyes were met by green ones. Both children stared at each other before the boy hastily rolled over, sitting up.

The girl giggled. "Are you not supposed to be here too? My name's Mana. I'm new here, and I'm going to be the greatest magician ever. I'm five seasons, so how old are you?"

Before the boy could answer, she immediately began to drag him off. "Have you ever heard of the bug of responsibility? It bites people and makes them responsible, so they have to do work all day and never play. Doesn't that sound awful?" Lowering her voice, she told him confidently, "You and I may be the only uninfected people in this whole place."

The boy had been about to pull out her grip when she had continued speaking, but now leaned forward curiously. The glint in her eyes was more than enough to get him to play along.

"Not the only people. My friend, Mahad, isn't bitten."

"Oh? Then why isn't he here?" she asked, archly.

"Because…" the boy laughed, realizing that she had indeed caught him. "Well, then, I guess as the only uninfected people here, we should stick together."

"So… how old are you?" Mana asked, continuing along, though not as urgently as before.

"Six seasons. So, one season older than you." He commented, laughing.

She pouted. "Hey! That's not fair. Age doesn't matter!"

He was too busy laughing, however, and so she changed tactics. "What'cha want to do then? I know! Let's go to the kitchens. I heard they have sweets there all the time!"

The boy hesitated. He had promised his father, not to mention he didn't want a repeat occurrence…. "Sure." He found himself saying.

The girl smiled at him, and he felt his heart lighten. Mana was brighter than any other person he had ever met, and he'd seen quite a few princesses paraded in front of him. As they started off towards the kitchens, she glanced over at him, smirking.

"So… Can I call you Prince then?" she asked, eyes glinting with a sly look that had been missing before.

That startled him, leaving him to stare after her as she suddenly took off. "Hey, Prince! Race you to the kitchens!"

Finally, with a grin, he ran after her. Laughter echoed through the halls, even as they faded away around him.

* * *

Yami found himself standing in the middle of a city, the ruined buildings similar to those of ghost towns in Western Films. However, there was a sense of enmity about the place that seemed to be directed towards him.

A figure, tall and tanned with a scar snaking down from one eye, walked out from one of the buildings, smirking.

"Well… Welcome back. You're more of a fool than I thought, to come here. Even though it is simply a dream to you, this place still gives me power."

At that, his grin turned almost feral. "Well, all mighty Pharaoh, can you remember yet? Or do my friends have to wrestle the information from you. I'll ask you one more time. What. Is. Your. Name?"

Yami didn't respond, taking an involuntary step back as suddenly a horde of pale shapes seemed to explode from behind the man, who began to laugh wildly. Turning, Yami fled as the laughter seemed to chase after him.

"Yes, run Pharaoh. You won't escape your fate. I'll make you tell me your name, one way or another. I'm almost strong enough to make these dreams a reality, and when I do you'll regret not simply giving in to me. Just you wait…"

* * *

Jack glanced around the hotel room, wondering what had woken him up. As he peered through the darkness, he saw Yami sitting up, panting as though he had been running. The boy's eyes were wide, and Jack recognized the look as one of terror. He'd seen it plenty of times while facing the goa'uld.

"Hey, Yami, you okay?" he asked softly, careful not to wake anyone up.

Starting, Yami looked at him, already starting to look much calmer, although Jack could still see traces of the emotion in his eyes.

"Yeah… It was just a bad dream, that's all. Don't worry about it…"

"Hey… They'll be okay." Jack commented, figuring the kid was worried about his friends and family. However, he was momentarily thrown off balance at the brief look of confusion that crossed Yami's face before a flicker of understanding.

"Hmm…" was the only response, and Jack changed his mind. Apparently, the kid's nightmare had dealt with something other than the current problems he was facing. As Yami lay back down to go to sleep, Jack peered at the clock. Noting that it was already five, Jack rolled over and shook Daniel.

"Psst. Hey, Daniel." The man slowly opened his eyes, looking blearily up at Jack as he tried to see without his glasses.

"Wassup? Izit morning already?" he mumbled, words jumbling as the scientist spoke.

"Get Teal'c up. Carter's already waiting for us. We're going to be scouting the docks and combing the city. Whoever this person is, we should be able to get at least some information on him."

Daniel managed a nod, and Jack quietly left the room. Within moments of his departure he was joined by Daniel and Teal'c, the former still yawning. As they moved down the hall, Carter joined them.

"Whew… Sorry for being late, Sir. I could have sworn I wouldn't get out of there unnoticed. Isis was watching the door for quite some time, but she finally went to sleep."

"That's all right, Carter." Jack responded, shouldering his pack as they pushed through the hotel doors. "We're right on schedule. So, we know we have until tonight to rescue Yami's relatives so we need to be quick."

Nodding, the group moved towards the docks whereupon they spread out. However, when they met up again three hours later, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

"I do not believe we will find the hostages here, O'Neil, until the kidnapper wishes us to." Teal'c commented. Jack nodded, peering around.

"Well… Let's try to find out if anyone has seen any of the hostages, then."

Before they could split, however, a voice spoke up behind them. "Are you acquainted with a Mr. Yami Mouto?"

Jack slowly turned around. "And what if we are?" he asked, turning to confront the woman standing behind him. As he did so, his jaw dropped.

"Are you not Isis?" Teal'c commented, managing to make the question sound more like a statement of fact.

The woman in front of them, dressed in plain robes, gave them an odd look. "My name is Ishizu, not Isis. I need to talk to Mr. Mouto."

"Well, I'm afraid you can't talk to Yami, considering that you might be out to kill him. However, you can talk to us and we'll pass the message on to him."

Ishizu eyed him, before finally nodding. "Very well, if you promise that my message will reach him. I am one of the members of a special family, the tombkeeper clan in Egypt. It is my family's duty to protect the tombs of the Pharaohs, however recently my brother has begun to act strangely. He became the leader of our clan after our father's death, and while he was always reticent to lead the life of our people, recently he had begun to act openly antagonistic towards the Pharaohs, especially the one known as the Nameless Pharaoh. When he learned that the Millennium Puzzle had been solved by a boy closely resembling the Nameless Pharaoh he immediately disappeared."

Jack stared at her, uncomprehendingly. "Let me make sure I'm following you; your brother suddenly went insane and decided to go after the kid because he looks like some long dead pharaoh?"

Ishizu nodded, acting as though what she had told him was commonplace. Jack managed to shake his head, resisting the urge to laugh in sheer incredulity.

"Well, why don't you come with us and perhaps you can help us when we meet your brother later this evening to release the hostages; you can at least try to talk him out of doing anything that could get him hurt."

Ishizu stared at Jack, as though she couldn't comprehend what he had said. "But… my brother arranged to meet with Yami at midday… So in less than an hour…"

Now it was Jack's turn to stare as Daniel repeated what the woman had said. "In less than an hour? But…"

Dawning comprehension appeared on his face even as Jack turned towards the hotel, breaking into a run. Oh… This was bad. Very bad…

Yami moved along the streets, purposefully heading towards the docks. He had managed to escape Seto's keen observation by practically ordering him to allow Yami to go for a walk to clear his mind before meeting their adversary face to face. He had already caught Seto three times, but hadn't seen him since. Once he was certain that he was not being followed, Yami had begun to head towards the meeting point.

When he arrived at the docks, Yami moved through the warehouses, searching for some sign of his Grandfather or Yugi. Tea would likely be held with them, so if he could catch sight of any one of them…

Even as he rounded the corner, however, Yami froze in horror. Yugi, Grandpa, and Tea were all strapped into chairs suspended over the water. Each one was attached to an anchor that could easily pull them down into the dark depths.

A figure stepped out in front of him. Blond locks shot wildly in every direction as the tanned figure placed himself between Yami and his hostages. Gritting his teeth, Yami readied himself for whatever the kidnapper might have planned. Instead, he ended up starring in disbelief; the boy in front of him couldn't have been much older than Yami himself. In fact, he probably was the same age.

The boy laughed, and Yami's eyes widened at the hint of insanity that was contained. This was worse than he had anticipated… Even Pegasus had been sane, if single minded, in his pursuit of the Millennium Puzzle.

"Well, Pharaoh. Took you long enough to get here." The boy commented, and Yami was once again thrown off balance. The boy's voice was deep, sounding much like Heru'ur's, which meant that apparently there was a goa'uld on Earth. And it had Yugi hostage…

"So, we meet for the first time. I must say, I am surprised. From what I heard, I thought you would be, well, taller for one. Not to mention stronger. Oh well, however. Now that I have been freed from imprisonment, I have every intention of gaining possession of the Millennium Puzzle."

Yami tensed, one hand dropping to the puzzle around his neck. "What do you want with it?" he asked defensively.

"Well, I don't suppose you remember… After all, it has been quite some time. I want the Millennium Puzzle for the power it grants its wielder, of course. You could easily defeat me, if you only remembered how to access it." The goa'uld taunted, starting to move, circling Yami. Although the path to Yugi was now open, Yami hesitated to attempt a rescue. The goa'uld was so confident that there had to be a trap.

Before he could make a move, suddenly the goa'uld slipped to on knee, clutching its head. A scream rent the air, before suddenly the goa'uld looked up. Somehow, though, Yami could tell that this was no longer the goa'uld but the host.

"Please, kill him. I know what he's planning, and you have to stop him! He intends on killing your friends, no matter what happens! I am sorry that I was the one to give him the knowledge to find you, but please, Pharaoh, destroy him. Don't worry about me! I am so sorry for everything…"

Yami opened his mouth to respond, even as the goa'uld slid back into control. "Well, Pharaoh… Now you know. Destroy me, and you'll destroy my host. An innocent; isn't that your goal? To protect the innocent? Now, hand over the Millennium Puzzle, and I will release your friends."

Before the host had taken control, Yami might have been tempted to give up the puzzle for his friends' safety. However, now that he knew better he shook his head.

"You would never allow either my friends or myself to escape alive. No, you do not wish to leave a trail that others might follow to you, so why don't you tell me who you are? At least give me a name to call you by."

Smirking the goa'uld pulled out a long dagger from his belt; the sheath had been cleverly hidden in the clothes so that Yami had no warning before the blade was barred. "My name? Well, I suppose you might as well call me Marik, after my host. You won't live long enough for my true name to be of any use to you."

Frantically, Yami began to back up as the goa'uld started towards him. Before he could back up too far, however, the goa'uld threw the knife into something behind him. Suddenly, all of the anchors holding his friends dropped, not enough to pull them into the water, but instead of hanging they were now slowly lowering into the ocean, and the chain connected to them was beginning to decrease.

The goa'uld smirked. "Did you think I was going to chase you all over this pathetic city?" he sneered, "If so, you're more pathetic now than you were five-thousand years ago. No, we'll have a shadow game, and the victor claims the Millennium Puzzle!"

A what!? Yami thought, mind frantically trying to decide what the goa'uld was walking about. The host, Marik, seemed to think he could win, but how could he win a game he had never even heard of? Laughing maniacally, the goa'uld held up a hand.

"I summon Lava Golem." Yami barely had time to register the lack of a duel disk when suddenly a huge monster appeared in front of him, molten lava running in rivulets down the beast's sides.

Yami frantically called out the name of the first duel monster he could think of, although it wasn't what he might have thought of had his mind not been fogged by shock.

"I summon… Gaia…?" Exactly as he had expected, nothing happened. The goa'uld laughed.

"You can't summon a creature that is not your ka, fool! Unfortunately for you, I have this." Pulling up his sleeve, he showed Yami a golden device strapped to his arm. "I found this in the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, your tomb. I figured it would come in handy, and it ensures that I can summon any creature so long as a tablet exists for it. Well, I would prepare yourself… to die!" he finished, laughing even as the lava golem moved forward.

As the creature moved towards Yami, he felt as though the rest of the world was shrinking away. Instead, all that existed was him as even the golem seemed to drop out of sight. A tall figure, cloaked in shadows stood in front of him, and for some reason he felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He reached out, feeling as though he had lost a friend, although he couldn't imagine why.

"Please." He whispered, feeling something stirring within him. "Please help me…" The figure nodded, bowing in front of him even as the world snapped back into focus. The lava golem was still moving towards him, however now someone was standing in between him and the other monster.

The Dark Magician held out a hand, casting his signature attack. Although, in terms of the game the lava golem was much stronger than the Dark Magician, the blast destroyed the fiend and the goa'uld doubled over.

Yami still felt as though he was wrapped in fog, although he was no longer in the blank realm. He slowly moved forward, barely noting the Dark Magician moving to flank him and the other creature holding a large sword that hovered in the air nearby.

Stopping in front of the goa'uld, which had fallen to its knees, he slowly spoke.

"You have trespassed where you are not supposed to be. After we drove the false gods away, it was made clear that none of your kind were welcome here. It is time for you to face the judgment of the true gods." Holding out a hand, he reached out with the power welling up inside of him until he felt the goa'uld residing inside of the boy.

"Now, begone." He ordered, encasing it with his shadow magic and sending it into the shadow realm. The boy's eyes cleared, and he stared up at Yami, looking dazed and confused. Ignoring the boy, Yami turned towards his Dark Magician.

"Thank you… my friend…" he whispered, dismissing him. As soon as the magician had disappeared, Yami felt as though his strength was draining out of him. He barely had enough time to notice Seto racing towards him, trailed by Mahad, before he collapsed to the ground.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone for reading! :D Please review and let me what you think so far!**


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Here's another chapter! Hope people like it.**

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 **Chapter Twenty One:**

Seto moved forward to protect Yami when he realized that the other boy was using shadow magic. He hadn't expected Yami to summon anything, let alone the Dark Magician. After Mahad had given his life to protect the Pharaoh, the Dark Magician had been bound to his king. However, since they had managed to bring Mahad back, Seto had assumed that the Dark Magician would vanish, seeing as how it had been a combination of the mage's ba and ka.

As he raced forward, Duos summoned just in case, Yami turned back toward the kidnapper, reaching out. Another wave of shadow magic surged over Seto before the boy slumped to the ground. Yami slowly turned, and Seto could see that, although he was standing upright, there was a distance in his eyes that boded of…

Fainting. Even as he and Mahad reached Yami's side, the boy's eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed. Immediately, Mahad began to mutter a spell, finally stopping and sighing with relief.

"He's okay… Thank Ra he's okay…" the mage whispered, relieved. Seto turned towards him, about to respond when a low moan rose from the ground. The kidnapper was stirring, beginning to sit up.

Immediately, Seto was holding a knife to his throat. "Stay where you are and don't move."

The boy froze, stopping in the process of sitting up. They remained there for a few moments, and Seto had almost made up his mind to kill the boy when suddenly there was a voice calling from behind him.

"Marik!" A woman came racing towards them, stopping when she saw the boy lying on the ground. Colonel O'Neil was hot on her heels, followed by the remainder of his team and the new 'human' who had joined them.

"Whoa! Get the kid away from him! According to her, the boy might be possessed by a goa'uld." Mahad looked up in alarm from where he was tending Yami, about to pull him away when Seto shook his head.

"If there was a goa'uld in him, it was young and weak. It is now gone."

Colonel O'Neil stared at him, the look on his face causing Seto's esteem of the man to drop even further.

"There was one, but it's gone? Is Marik dead?" he demanded, looking from the knife in Seto's hands to the boy still kneeling in front of him.

"Of course he's not. You can see that he is alive." Seto scoffed, wondering how stupid the man was. As though he would leave a body for them to find…

"Hey, if it was possible to remove a goa'uld this quickly without killing the host, trust me we'd know. I mean, what with Daniel's wife and Skaara being possessed by goa'uld, we would have likely found a means of removing them. Not even Thor knows a means of doing so; only the tok'ra seem to know a way of doing so."

"Well, it's gone." Seto commented matter of factly.

Before the colonel could speak again, Mahad spoke. "I understand your concern over this issue, however might I ask that we postpone this debate over whether it is or is not possible in order to return Yami to the hotel, as well as free the prisoners? The anchors seemed to have stopped moving with the goa'uld's death, however it might be wise to not take chances."

Seto glanced over, noting that Mahad was indeed correct about the cessation of movement. He hadn't cared enough to check on the hostages, and for the first time in years he felt a twinge of guilt at that. What would Kisara or his Pharaoh think, if they knew…

Soon, with Yami resting in Mahad's arms and the others helping the remaining humans, the group slowly returned to the hotel. Inside, Mana was pacing with worry. When they entered, she practically jumped on Mahad.

"What happened? We felt shadow magic, but what did you do?" She demanded of Seto, turning her glare on him. He wished she was still as easily intimidated as she had been in Khemet, when she hadn't even dared to question him, let alone confront him.

Seto didn't even bother dignifying her with a response, shoving past her into the room. Mahad followed, gently placing Yami on the bed before turning to face his student.

"Mana! Show more respect." He admonished, even as the other humans entered and dropped their loads, looking exhausted with the effort. Only the kidnapper was able to stand, as he limped along next to the new woman.

Before Seto could turn away, Isis positioned herself in front of him, stare informing him that she wasn't going to let him go without an explanation.

Shrugging, he finally spoke. "The human was possessed by an infant goa'uld. Apparently his will was so weak that it was able to control his actions. He decided to use shadow magic against Yami and was met with a stronger opponent."

Isis's eyebrows rose, surprise flickering over her face. "He used shadow magic?" she asked, eyes briefly alighting on Yami. Seto merely nodded, deciding that it was Mahad's turn to speak.

Mahad switched to Egyptian, speaking rapidly to make it more difficult for the humans to follow. "He somehow summoned the Dark Magician." He stated, and Isis's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"How can that be possible? The Dark Magician should no longer exist…" she cut off when Seto motioned to her, having noting that they were attracting more attention from the humans.

"We'll discuss this later." Seto ordered, switching back to English. Before any of the humans could ask questions he headed for the corner of the room, sitting down in one of the chairs and promptly setting about to purposefully ignoring the others.

Seto thought over the events of the day, mentally snorting as he considered how opportune they had been. He had wanted a sign, and he figured that this one was about as obvious as he could get. Which meant… Yami truly was the wielder of the Millennium Puzzle, and Seto was certain that somehow he was also their Pharaoh reborn.

The only question was how. Osiris, if he even truly existed, would never allow a soul to simply leave the afterlife. However, Seto knew that no matter his own personal misgivings, he would have to place his trust in Kisara at least. As for Yami, well… Only time would tell.

* * *

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "Daniel, what were our 'allies' whispering about?" he demanded, whispering as quietly as possible. Daniel shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you, actually Jack. They were speaking too fast for me to understand. Something about shadows and darkness, and they were talking about Yami."

"No, really Daniel? I thought they were discussing my grandma." Jack commented sarcastically. Turning he glanced back to where Yami was lying on the bed. "Besides, doesn't it seem a little strange? First we're worried that they're going to kill the kid, now they're trying to save his life? I don't believe anything, human or goa'uld, changes their mind that rapidly without a reason."

Teal'c, on Jack's other side glanced over one shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "I am inclined to agree with you, O'Neil. In battle, it takes a lot for one warrior to respect another. I saw your strength, and so betrayed Apophis. However, I already had doubts about the 'Gods'. For them to so suddenly change their behavior is… much like much like swine taking to the air."

"You mean pigs flying." Jack corrected almost automatically. Turning his attention to his new companions, he began to question them instead. At least they would answer.

"So… care to tell us what happened to get you possessed by a goa'uld?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

Ishizu opened her mouth, "Now is not the time to discuss this. Perhaps after my brother is rested he…"

The boy sitting next to her shook his head, cutting her off mid-sentence. Speaking for the first time, he addressed his sibling. "No, sister. They have a right to know, and I am free to talk about it. I owe this much, at least, to make up for everything I did."

Ishizu slowly nodded. Jack was surprised at how easily she gave in to the younger's demands, but for all he knew she was merely losing the battle to win the war.

Marik turned back to face them, face downcast as he stared at the floor. Finally he spoke, voice soft. "I didn't realize what had happened at first. My family was tasked many thousands of years ago to stand guard over the Pharaoh's tomb in Egypt. Generation after generation of medjai were born in the tunnels surrounding the burial site, until eventually we came to call ourselves the tombkeepers. There was much celebration when I was born, because I was the first son of the clan leader, therefore would one day grow to inherit his title and lead the medjai. However, as I grew up I found myself wanting to do more than just stay in the tombs. I wanted to see the world."

Carter, sitting closer to the boy frowned. "Why didn't you leave then?" she asked, a question that had been on the tip of Jack's tongue.

Marik's expression didn't change from a blank expression. "Because my father refused to allow his only heir to leave the clan. Instead, I was to remain underground, and after I voiced my intentions he refused to even allow me above ground to see the sun. I was angry and resentful, but my father was… unreasonable. He wouldn't lay a hand on me, of course. No need to ruin his heir." For the first time in his speech, Marik's face twisted. A flash of hatred appeared before the boy managed to wrestle control back, hiding his emotions behind what Jack now figured was a very good mask.

"Instead, if I stepped out of line he would beat Odion, my adopted brother. Our mother found him when he was a child and took him in. After her death, he made it his duty to look after me. My father realized how much I grew to trust him and made him into my 'whipping boy' of sorts. I couldn't blame my father, however. I blamed the past which forced us to stay, and especially the Pharaoh, whose tomb I was all but imprisoned in. About a month ago, I took off to one of the older tunnels, one of those which had been abandoned for many years, perhaps since the Pharaoh had been entombed. As I was wandering down the tunnel, I found a canopic jar. It didn't have any markings on it, and to an untrained eye might have been taken for a jar or something equally innocuous."

"That makes sense." Daniel commented, nodding. "We were able to find out that both the goa'ulds Isis and Osiris were imprisoned in canopic jars, which apparently served the goa'uld as some sort of stasis containers."

Jack sat up slightly, turning towards Isis who, along with the other goa'ulds beside Seto were listening to the story with guarded expressions. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. You look awfully good for a dead, autopsied snake."

Isis regarded him with a cool expression. "I was merely named after the god Isis. I am not the goa'uld who pretended to be the goddess herself."

"Ah. Right. Makes much more sense." Jack commented, turning back to Marik. "So, I'm assuming this jar was not, in fact, an empty jar."

"No." Marik admitted somberly. "However, I didn't believe my father's tales of the false gods. I figured they were just stories to keep our family trapped in the tombs, forever serving the Pharaoh and protecting his tomb from aliens. You can imagine how believable it sounded, especially as father wasn't always…"

"Completely stable." Ishizu interjected. "He often lost control of his temper, especially after mother's death."

Marik nodded as Jack raised his eyebrows. "So he was abusive?"

"I suppose that's the best term for his actions…" Marik responded after a long pause, staring back at the floor. "Either way, I should have listened in this instance. Instead I opened the jar, wanting to see what could still be inside after all these years. The seal was intact, so it took a bit of pulling but I finally got the jar open by hitting it with a rock on the top of the jar, just enough to break the seal and loosen the lid. When I opened it, though, something came out at me and the next thing I knew, I was waking up after blacking out. I thought there had been a hallucinogenic powder or something in the jar, anything that could explain what I'd just seen. However, I continued to black out over the next few weeks. I'd wake up doing something I had no memory of starting, let alone of deciding to begin. When the goa'uld finally took over, it had all my memories and was able to pretend to be me."

"Sounds like an young goa'uld, that's for sure." Carter commented, frowning. However, I've never heard of a goa'uld trying to mimic their host, unless there was a good reason for it."

"There was." Marik responded. "While it could see my memory, I could also see its, at least slightly. For some reason, it also hated the Pharaoh. However, there was no reason why it would do so. I had assumed that it had taken the feeling from my memories, however I began to think differently. There was this… voice ringing through my head when it was in control. Almost a whisper, but it sounded clear, telling the goa'uld to kill the Pharaoh. I couldn't hear it at first, when I was merely blacking out… It wasn't until that thing took complete control that it first began to be audible. I think the voice drove the thing mad, until the only objective it had was to kill the Pharaoh. My father was killed during its escape…"

Marik trailed off, face having become more and more drawn throughout the course of his explanation. As he mentioned his father, Jack could see the obvious sorrow. As much as the boy had hated and feared the man, Marik was likely not capable of his cold blooded murder. Not unless Jack had lost his ability to judge a person's character.

"Hey, it's over now, right? You don't have to worry about a thing. We'll take care of authorities and whoever else we need to. It's the least we can do."

Marik was silent, events obviously too recent and painful for him to have fully recovered, however his sister spoke up.

"Thank you very much, Colonel O'Neill. We appreciate your concern, and would welcome your help. I do not know what I would do if anything were to happen to Marik… He is now the only family besides Odion that I have left."

Jack nodded. Looking down at Marik, he knelt in front of the boy. "Hey, why don't you go lie down? You've had a long… day? Week? Month? Anyway, you look like you could use some sleep."

Marik nodded, slowly heading towards one of the beds and lying down. Jack watched him, noticing the hunched shoulders that indicated the boy was still awake. After what he had been through, Jack wouldn't be surprised if he didn't sleep well for quite some time… Certainly grown men had dealt with far less when going through the stargate and been unable to sleep for weeks, if not months.

Their new friend had more to him than met the eye, and Jack was somehow certain that there were still hidden depths. They were going to have to find out what they were, and fast, or Jack had a feeling that Yami would pay for his ignorance with his life.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Yeah... Sorry everyone! I've just been diagnosed with a sleep disorder that makes me very tired and have low energy, so I would keep getting too tired to update. No excuse, but there it is! There are only 43 chapters, so we are over half way! I'll try to update more often, but no promises with my health! I hope those who read this still enjoy it, even if the plot twists aren't always what are expected. :D**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

 _The boy sat up, delighted when he saw his two friends arriving at the gardens._

" _Finally! How long did it take your new master to introduce himself, Mana?"_

 _At that, the girl broke into almost hysterical giggling, almost doubling even as her companion turned a beet red._

" _Mana! It was not that amusing!" Mahad chided, the color still high in his cheeks. The boy frowned. He knew Mahad had just been made a full magician, but how could the older boy know who Mana's teacher was, unless…_

" _You told him already." The boy accused his still laughing friend, only for her to shake her head. Finally managing to choke down her laughter, she spoke._

" _No Prince! I didn't tell him… He…" here the barely contained laughter welled up once more, making the remainder of her words unintelligible._

 _With a sigh, the boy turned towards Mahad once again. By now the magician's face was an even darker shade of red, if that could even have been possible from his previous color._

" _Ah… well, in their wisdom and at the request of Lord Ra… the High Mages saw fit to assign me as Mana's…" Here his stuttering sentence trailed off, not helped by the new set of laughter joining Mana's. "Prince!" he protested; however, it was already too late._

" _They gave Mana… to you?" The boy exclaimed, laughing. "But she has you wrapped around her little finger!" Mahad huffed slightly._

" _She does not! Besides, it was Lord Ra's decision. He must have felt as though I was ready for the task."_

 _The boy nodded, sobering up slightly. "Of course. Really though, Mahad… Congratulations. I'm sure you'll be able to train Mana to become one of the most powerful mages in the court."_

 _Silence descended on the group as even Mana's laughter faded away. The three stood, each lost in thought. Finally, Mana spoke, voicing their thoughts aloud._

" _Everything is going to change now, isn't it?" she asked softly, almost sadly._

 _The boy nodded, feeling the loss as acutely as his friend. "I suppose so… I'm to start lessons as well now that I'm old enough, and as long as Mahad has Lord Ra's favor, we'll all be kept busy."_

 _Mana made a face. "I don't see why… Besides. You're only eight summers! How is that old enough to learn about running a kingdom?"_

 _Mahad shot his new student a look. "Mana! The Prince comes of age upon his twelfth summer. Before then he will need to learn how to run the kingdom should anything happen to the Pharaoh."_

" _I know, I know… It's just, I feel as though we're growing apart now. What if we never get to spend time together like this again?"_

 _The boy brightened, an idea sparking. "Mana, Mahad, I want to tell the both of you a secret. "_

 _He motioned for them to come closer, and the three moved together until there was no space between one person and the next._

" _What is it?" Mana asked curiously._

" _My name," the boy said, seriously. Holding up a hand, he forestalled Mahad's objections. "Father told me never to tell anyone else my name, as names have power. One day, he believes that I will do something great and then my name will be remembered through history." He laughed. "I doubt that will ever happen. All I want is to follow in my Father's footsteps and lead Khemet through an age of peace and prosperity. I cannot see any harm in telling you my name. You are my best friends, and I trust both of you with my life."_

 _After a moment's hesitation, Mahad nodded, eyes serious. Even Mana seemed to understand how important the gesture was and was strangely silent. Leaning in, the boy spoke in a low whisper._

" _My name is …."_

 _The scene faded into mist, and Yami found himself back in the darkness. He spun around nervously, remembering what had happened in the previous dream. Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke from behind him._

" _So… You really don't know who you are, do you?" The same figure as before stood there, red robes a shocking contrast to their surroundings._

" _Remember what?" Yami demanded, sick of the same nightmare every time he shut his eyes._

 _Instead of responding, the man smirked at him. "Well, you seem to be remembering a little, at least, if not what I need to know. Soon you'll slip up, though."_

" _What do you mean, slip up?" Yami asked, feeling a tingle of dread course through him._

 _Laughter was his only response. "Why don't you dream some more, and while you dream remember. I won't bother you anymore, little king. Oh no, in fact I'll even help you. If you truly want to begin to unlock your memories, you'll need my assistance. Until then, consider this as some free assistance from someone working towards a common goal."_

 _Before Yami could demand more answers, the man waved a hand and the dream world shifted around him…_

 _The boy moved softly through the halls, carefully avoiding the guards. It wouldn't do to get caught out of his rooms. Although he was nine summers and even regularly attending lessons, the Guardians in his Father's court still wouldn't allow him to walk through corridors unless a contingent of guards followed after him. His Father kept adding to the number of guards watching his son, especially recently. While he could understand the use of having guards, the boy didn't see why he needed them in the palace. Especially with Lord Ra's protection. Although he usually put up with their presence, he didn't want them around for what he was about to do._

 _The boy hesitated, watching the entrance to the library before slipping in when he saw no guards. It wasn't long before he spotted his target. Seto, now High Priest Seto after the death of the previous priest of the Millenium Rod, was sitting at a table going over various reports. The boy knew from experience that the reports, including grain reports, were extremely boring. Therefore, he had decided to at least temporarily liberate Seto from them. After all, ever since he had been made High Priest Seto had spent almost every night in here._

 _Taking a deep breath, the boy moved out, stopping where Seto could see him. The older boy glanced up before returning his attention to the scrolls in front of him._

" _You should be in bed, Prince." Suddenly, his head shot up again, a suspicious look on his face. "Where are your guards? The Pharaoh will not be pleased to know you 'lost' them again."_

" _They're outside." The boy answered, as innocently as possible. "I figured I would be safe enough with you… After all, you are a High Priest. Doesn't that qualify you to protect me instead of the guards?"_

 _Seto nodded grudgingly. The boy grinned. "Oh… I might have told them that you were going to see me back to my room. They could have left." This was said just in time, as Seto moved to the door and flung it open. He slowly turned back to face the boy, a scowl on his face._

" _Prince, I am very busy and do not have time for childish games. You are returning to your rooms, now."_

 _The boy nodded, cheerfully falling into step beside Seto as they began to head down the hall. Suddenly, as they passed a doorway, he turned off. Moving quickly so Seto wouldn't catch up immediately, he led the older boy through a series of passages until they both burst into the night air._

 _The boy immediately flopped down, staring up at the sky and trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. Seto moved next to him._

" _Prince, we are going back to your rooms." He ordered, starting to sound irritated. The boy ignored this in favor of a question of his own._

" _Did you know that you can see Nut stretching across the sky, protecting Ra on his nightly journey… Did you ever wonder why Ra is the sun, and yet remains here with us? Sometimes I wonder how he can be in two places at once…"_

 _Silence greeted his words. He hesitated, wondering if he had gone too far, before quickly changing the subject. "Osiris is in the sky as well."_

" _What is the point of this?" Seto demanded, obviously at the end of his proverbial tether._

" _Well, I've been too busy recently to look at the sky. They always seem so…. Amazing, don't they?" he commented, patting the ground beside him._

 _With a sigh, Seto settled down next to the boy. "How long is this going to take?" he asked, however the irritation had disappeared from his voice._

 _The two continued to sit there, until finally when the boy glanced over Seto's eyes had slid shut. Smiling himself, he leaned back the rest of the way and shut his eyes._

Yami's eyes slowly flickered open, and he moaned slightly at the return to consciousness. His head felt as though someone had drilled a hole into it and gone digging around. The events before he had lost consciousness had an almost tender feeling to the memories, as though they would hurt if he looked at them too closely. Before he could try, however, a face suddenly moved into his vision.

"Yugi?" Yami gasped, sitting up despite the headache. "Yugi! You're all right!"

The younger boy laughed, albeit a little shakily. "Yeah… Gramps and Tea are okay as well. We all woke up in a hotel room. Tea had to go home, of course, but Gramps insisted that you be brought back to the game shop along with all of the others. I didn't know you were with the US military!"

Yami managed a small laugh. "Yeah… Turns out they needed my help with something…" He suddenly made up his mind. "Yugi, I need to talk to Colonel O'Neil, but afterwards I promise I'll tell you and Grandpa everything, okay?"

Yugi nodded, brightening slightly. "Good! I didn't want to push you, but… well, if whatever you're doing is dangerous I think both Gramps and I would like to know what to expect. Especially if it involves us being used as hostages again."

Yugi smiled as he got up to indicate that he didn't hold that against Yami, although that didn't make him feel much better. The guilt remained, and Yami couldn't help but wonder if anything else was going to happen to his friends because of him.

He sat quietly in the bed until the sound of footsteps alerted him to Jack's approach. The doorknob turned, letting Jack through the door into Yami's room. The military man so looked out of place among the various games lining the walls that it was all Yami could do not to laugh.

"So, how you feeling, kid?" Jack asked, gingerly sitting on the bedside.

"Fine." Yami hastened to assure him. "What about all of you?"

"Everyone's fine. Then again, we weren't the one facing down a goa'uld on our own." Jack commented, causing Yami to frown slightly.

"What?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, what? You ran off to face a goa'uld on your own, that's what. Don't think we were just going to forget. When we get back to base, if you still want to be involved with this, that is."

"I think I'm already too involved to back out now…" Yami answered, feeling strangely as though his words were more true than he had thought them to be. "I do want to tell my Grandfather and Yugi about what we're doing, though. They deserve to know, especially after everything they've been through. I'm surprised you even let Tea go…"

"Ah… Well, about that." Jack shifted uncomfortably. "She didn't really remember much, so it was fairly easy to tell her she'd been knocked out by muggers. Actually, it was a little too easy, which leads me to think that our goa'uld friends might have had something to do with it."

Yami sighed. "Seto, I'll bet." He commented, shaking his head slightly.

Jack shot him a look. "Well, I'll try talking to him."

"Let me." Yami responded, shaking his head. "He might listen to me more, since he obviously wants me around for some reason."

Jack nodded, returning to Yami's previous question. "I suppose it would be all right to tell your family. Since they've already been involved. I'll call General Hammond just to make sure, but then you can tell them."

Yami nodded, sitting back against the bed, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. "Thank you, Jack."

Apparently sensing Yami's exhaustion, Jack stood. "Well, I'll go make that phone call then. Get some sleep."

Yami closed his eyes, listening to Jack's departure. However, suddenly he heard footsteps entering the room. Before he could speak, a voice sounded.

"Are you okay?"

Yami opened his eyes, glancing up at Seto. "I'm fine... Why are you here?"

Seto ignored his question, still staring at him. "How much do you remember from before you blacked out?"

With a sigh, Yami closed his eyes. "I remember getting a message telling me where the kidnapper wanted to meet, and then…" Yami froze. "I… don't remember the rest." He whispered, feeling suddenly as though he was teetering on the edge of a cliff,about to go over the side.

A sudden surge in his headache settled the matter, forcing him to stop attempting to recall the events and instead focus on staying perfectly still so his head wouldn't throb. When he finally felt better, Yami cracked one eye open only to find the room empty, and Seto gone.

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 **Please review! Reviews help motivate me to post!**


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Hello again! Thank you for all of the understanding and supportive reviews! They really helped motivate me! :D Only 20 more chapters left after this, so I hope people enjoy it. Just a little housekeeping.**

 **GoM: We're technically winding down, so things might pick up a little. Reading through myself, everything still seems coherent (not always a guarantee anymore), but if you notice any irregularities or don't understand character motivation, please mention it in a review! The problem with fanfiction is that everyone has their own view of characters, and while they can be influenced by other writers (some may have noticed that the star-gazing scene was based off of an old fanfic that I loved the idea behind) everyone still has their own idea of how characters act/respond. :D No problem with that, but I write my characters from an emotional standpoint, and sometimes I might forget to explain things the characters see as being normal/part of who they are at their core. Since I wrote this a few years ago, I think it should be coherent through the ending at least, but I can always respond to questions regarding motivation/thoughts. Just wanted to mention this since I am rather foggy right now so might miss things.**

 **Cat: for those interested in my sister's story, she has also been struggling with a different type of sleeping condition and is just now starting the process of getting a diagnosis. We haven't forgotten this story, and will be trying to (maybe) update this weekend, but updates might be spotty for a bit. Still, she appreciates the support for her story, so thank you!**

 **Sequel: I know earlier on in the fic I mentioned a sequel. There will be one! I actually even have most of it planned out, I just need to write it... So, yeah, once this is finished, there will be more. Just who knows when! If there is something you would like to see in the sequel, feel free to suggest it in reviews/PMs. As mentioned above, I have my own view of the characters, so if it does not fit in with what I see them as doing (or happens later in this fic) I might not use it, but I can try to incorporate it somehow. If you look on our account page you can see what shippings we support. For the characters listed, we will not pair them with someone else, but for other characters I would definitely consider any suggested pairings, provided I am comfortable with them (not doing Rebecca and Pegasus, for example). If your idea is included in any way, you will be credited!**

 **Sorry again for the long pre-chapter note. Wanted to get this out while I could in case I forgot/was too tired later. Thanks you so much once again! :D Please enjoy reading!**

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 **Chapter Twenty Three:**

 _The boy ducked down behind a vase. He was almost twelve summers, and too big to fit inside; however, his childhood hideouts still provided cover when he needed it. Like now… Peering out from behind, he listened closely for the sounds of high voices. Upon hearing nothing, he slipped out from behind the vase and into the room nearby. It was covered in dust and obviously suffering from a serious case of disuse. Perfect._

 _He was not running from just his guards this time, after all. They would still search in here, of course, but the boy was still small enough to hide behind the furniture and while the dust on his clothes would give him away if he was caught he did not intend to be found. The others he was hiding from, however, would never step down here in a million years. The Princesses… a group of royalty and nobility from almost every neighboring kingdom that wished to remain in Egypt's good graces were visiting. They acted sweet and innocent while in front of the court, but after three hours of not so subtle hints as to their intentions he had needed to escape. Things had come to a head when one had 'swooned' in such a way that he had been forced to catch her in a rather… compromising position. That was when he had decided to sneak away, and after a wonderfully timed distraction he had slipped out._

 _He doubted that Mana was going to forgive him very easily, though… She had provided the distraction when she'd walked in while he was still under the 'fainting' girl. Oh, she was angry all right. Unfortunately, the boy didn't know why. She knew he only stayed in their company because to do anything else would risk causing a diplomatic incident, right?_

 _The sound of footsteps shocked him from his thoughts, and he froze momentarily before diving behind one of the large, ornate chairs. Shrinking down, he tried to hide in the shadows, risking a small amount of shadow magic to help him blend in. Soon, he could hear muffled voices, and his eyes widened with shock and recognition._

 _Suddenly, the footsteps entered the room and he could hear the voices clearly._

" _I don't know what to do… I will not give up my son, and yet…"_

" _Do not fear, My Pharaoh. That is why the three of us are meeting now, in silence. This section of the palace has been abandoned for many years. Not to mention the wards we put up as we came down."_

" _Besides, my brother, the wards are to inform us of any who might approach. They are undetectable, as a barrier would not be, and will not cause much suspicion. Especially since my nephew has performed yet another disappearing act. I heard this from the guards as I was coming here."_

 _Father sighed. "Every time he escapes his guards I worry whether or not I will see him again, or merely something else looking out from his eyes." He raised a hand, rubbing his face which looked much older suddenly, as though now that he was in private he could allow himself to age. The boy felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't realized how much strain his actions put on his father, but wouldn't Lord Ra keep him safe? Especially in the palace?_

 _Shimon, the second speaker nodded in commiseration. "I can understand. The three of us are the only remaining members of your original court. We all think of the Prince as our own son and wouldn't wish to see anything happen to him."_

" _Then what can we do? Lord Ra presses for reasons why I will not give him my son. When he first asked, my son was only four and a half summers… Now he is almost twelve, a man. I have run out of excuses, and unless something changes my son will…"_

 _The boy's eyes widened as he saw the light shine on a line of water trickling down his father's face._

 _Akhenaden, the final member of the group, spoke calmly. "My brother, there is only one thing to do then. We have heard the stories of the northern nations attacking, backed by false gods. There is even a movement here in Khemet proclaiming our own Gods as false. To protect Khemet's future, we must join ranks with them to drive out Lord… no, to drive out the false gods."_

 _Father nodded. "No longer shall we call them lords… They have proven themselves time and time again to be false gods, especially through their treatment of our people. Fear has kept us from attacking, until now. Perhaps it is selfish of me… To refuse action until it is my own son who will be taken; however, I hope that the people of Khemet will understand that my actions were those of peace. Until we had the resources to go against beings as strong as gods, there was nothing that could be done."_

 _Shimon nodded. "Very well, then. I'll start the arrangements. I think it best not to inform anyone else of our actions until war is declared. Ra is taking his guards away to fight against the demons of the North soon, although he had anticipated a return before the Prince's coming of age celebration. We need to be ready before his return, if not by his departure."_

 _Nodding in agreement, the group slowly left, spacing themselves out so as to look separate and unconnected._

 _The boy sat in the ensuing silence, staring into the darkness. He had heard of people disappearing during his forays into the village, but had never learned the cause. Until now, he had believed the slave trade was behind most of the disappearances, despite being illegal by his father's commands. To learn that not only were the gods behind them, but that Ra himself wanted to take him… He remembered asking Seto how Ra could possibly be here in Memphis and in the skies at the same time, and apparently he now had his answer. The fake Ra was here, while the real sun god was in the heavens. Almost to his surprise, he was able to easily accept the fact._

 _For a moment he contemplated telling Mana and Mahad, or even Seto, but dismissed the thoughts immediately. His father needed secrecy, and all of his friends were close to the 'false gods'. He had no doubt that they would fight on the side of Khemet, but… They would be close to Ra for some time before his departure, and to hide such information then would be hard, if not impossible for all of them, especially Mana. No, he would have to keep his own council on this and do what he could to help._

 _With a sigh, he pushed himself out from behind the chair, trying to brush off the worst of the dust. When he was as clean as he thought he could get without actually changing clothes he moved off to find his guards. He would do his part to help out, even if he could only give his father some peace of mind._

Yami followed the SG members as they disembarked in Denver airport. Before they left, he had explained to both Yugi and his Grandfather exactly what he was doing. Yugi's eyes had widened until they looked as though they were going to fall out. Yami, who'd been expecting such a response, had rather enjoyed Yugi's blundering attempts at conversation afterward. Unexpectedly, however, was his Grandfather's reaction. The man hadn't said a word throughout, and most would have taken this as a sign of shock. If not for his own surprise, Yugi would likely have also noticed the thoughtful expression on his Grandfather's face.

He had taken nearly a week to fully recover from whatever had happened, and his memory of the events preceding his blackout were still hazy. Yami at least could now recall meeting Marik and learning that the boy was possessed by a goa'uld, however headaches seemed to strike whenever he thought any further.

By the time he had awoken, the boy, Marik, had already been taken back to Egypt by his sister, Ishizu. She had left no contact information, which meant Yami had no means of asking Marik what had happened. He had the strange feeling they would meet again, however.

As they waited for the trucks to arrive from Cheyenne Mountain, Yami moved over to Mahad.

"Mahad, I need to talk to you. In private." Yami added, glancing at the people currently surrounding them. "When we get back to the base, would you meet me in my room after dinner?"

His companion shot him a startled look. "Of course, Yami. Is something wrong?" Yami shook his head hastily to dispel his friend's concern.

"No, not really… I just wanted to ask you about something."

Apparently reassured that Yami wasn't in any immediate peril Mahad relaxed, turning back towards the conversation between Jack and Sam.

Yami glanced towards Seto, who was standing slightly apart from the group as usual. Yami noticed that he was slightly closer than usual, though, and seemed at least a little more attentive. A brief flash of his dream, with Seto staring up at the stars crossed his mind, and he smiled faintly.

Before he could try to get Seto to actually join the group, however, the long awaited car pulled up. Immediately the driver hopped out, saluting.

"Sir!"

"At ease." Jack responded, frowning. "What's the big rush?"

The soldier moved forward, talking to the colonel in a hushed voice as Jack's eyebrows went increasingly upwards.

"What!?" he finally managed, throwing his things into the back of the car and all but snatching Sam's from her and doing the same, despite her complaints.

"Jack, what's gone wrong?" Daniel commented, tone of voice indicating his worry.

"Someone managed to sneak into the base somehow. Let's just say, they want you there to deal with her, Daniel."

Seto spoke for the first time since they had landed, if not for the first time since they had left Japan. "So, your top secret, secure military base was infiltrated by a woman?" he smirked, "You might want to increase your security. I hear that-"

Clearing his throat, Yami shot Seto a look. It was an instinctive action, and to his great surprise Seto did indeed quiet down, albeit grudgingly. Turning back to Jack, who was still stuffing the trunk, Yami asked, "How did she get in exactly? She couldn't have just walked in, could she?"

"Our best bet is that she's from through the you-know-what, but who knows… It's like she appeared out of nowhere."

Daniel's eyes widened. "You think she might have been an Ascended?"

Jack nodded. "Apparently General Hammond does too, because he wants you to talk to her. Well, that and the fact that she seems to only speak Ancient Egyptian and you're our only reliable translator."

Grabbing Yami's bag, Jack tossed it in before slamming the trunk. "All right, let's get moving."

The two vans were barely filled before taking off. Yami settled himself by the window, trying to relax for the ride. The trip was at least an hour, and the tension in the van was very high.

Jack jumped out of the van as it entered the compound and pulled to a stop, followed quickly by Daniel. The others were a little slower but they were soon hot on their heels. As they entered into the lower rooms, they were met by General Hammond, who looked a little tense.

"Dr. Jackson, we need you right away. Colonel O'Neil, based on what Dr. Jackson can find out, we might need you to look for any breaches in our defenses."

"Yes Sir." Jack commented, noting the quick mention of business. Whatever was going on, the General was serious about the safety risk. "Do we still have no idea where she came from?"

"No, we do not. Dr. Jackson, that is our top priority at the moment."

Daniel nodded, moving ahead of the group. General Hammond led them into the viewing room, and Jack raised an eyebrow. Inside the room was a girl dressed in what looked like rags. What was really surprising, though, was the long white hair and extremely pale skin. Jack would have said she was an albino but for the brilliant blue eyes.

There was an intake of breath behind him, and Jack turned in time to see Seto pushing back out of the room. The youngest goa'uld, Mana, was staring as though seeing a ghost while the others seemed to be in various stages of shock.

The door opened into the room, and while Jack could see Daniel in the hall, Seto shoved the scientist out of the way and walked into the room. The girl glanced up before her face suddenly transformed into a look of happiness. Then, she did something so unexpected that Jack had to mentally pinch himself to be sure it actually happened.

The girl jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around Seto. Jack felt as though his brain had stopped, much like the cartoons of the running mice stopping on the wheel. She had hugged… Seto? The prickliest person… well, goa'uld Jack had ever met, and she had hugged him. What was almost more surprising was that after a moment's hesitation he had hugged her back.

"Well." Jack managed, breaking the stunned silence. "Tell me just about anything now and I will believe it. Even if you tell me that pigs really do fly, or that the sky is green. Really, I'll believe just about anything."

Silence greeted his statement as inside the room Seto led the girl out the door, shooting the guards a look that halted any attempts to stop her from leaving the room.

General Hammond finally spoke after Seto was out of sight. "What was that?" he demanded, turning towards the remaining goa'uld.

Isis slowly spoke, carefully choosing her words.

"I would assume that was Kisara, am I correct Master Akhenaden?"

"Indeed." The older goa'uld spoke, shaking his head. "Although I do not understand how it could possibly be… I saw her die three thousand years ago."

Daniel cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. "Actually, this could all be explained if she was an Ascended. The sudden appearance, like mine, somewhere she couldn't have possibly gotten to by any other means. Plus, Oma warned Jack and me about an Ascended in the area… We had assumed that she was here for… someone else, but if she knew Seto than that would explain her presence here on Earth."

"Plus, she was meddling with recent events, I imagine. Or at least giving someone information they shouldn't have had. Therefore, to punish her, the Council probably left her here to watch what will happen." Daniel added, frowning as he finished.

"So… that would mean that there is going to be a punishment." Carter commented, voicing the fear that Jack was already starting to think of.

"Great." He muttered under his breath. "Just what we need… The Council punishing us. They'll probably help Anubis now, or something equally helpful."

Yami spoke up from behind him. "Why would they punish us?" he asked, and Jack turned to explain.

"Well, you see being Ascended is sort of like… becoming God, or something close to it. They know more than regular people, so in order to avoid changing civilizations before the people could handle the info the Council made some rules. A biggie is not to intervene in the affairs of us mere mortals. One of the Ascended, Oma, helps others to ascend. Her punishment when she accidentally ascended Anubis was to be forced to watch as he was released back into our universe, essentially indestructible."

Frowning, Yami asked, "Wouldn't that violate their own rules? If Anubis is ascended then wouldn't he be able to use his knowledge to harm others?"

"Right, however they partially… descended him? That's the best way to put it. Anyway, he's only allowed to use the information that he could have access to as a system lord. Don't ask me how that works… Unfortunately, he is essentially invincible, which is where the 'punishment' part comes in."

"Oh…" Yami managed, and Jack could see that the kid had gotten their little 'paradox'. How to kill something that was, essentially, immortal… Yeah. It was a big problem alright.

As soon as he was back in the rooms he had been given on the base, Seto turned towards the girl following him.

"Kisara…" he said softly, releasing her hand and stepping back slightly to look at her and reassure himself that she was actually standing before him.

"Seto." She responded quietly, blinking up at him. "Seto I am so sorry I couldn't see you earlier. I…"

Shaking his head to cut her off, Seto interrupted. "There's nothing to apologize for, Kisara. I'm sure you had a reason. I'm just glad you're here, now."

She nodded. "I had to wait until you and the Pharaoh met so I could find out as much as possible before I returned. Also, this way I could ensure that I would be with you, not elsewhere."

Seto moved towards her, slowly enveloping her in another hug, this one deeper than their brief hug in the interrogation room. Breathing in, he allowed himself to believe that she was not only there, but she still felt the same way towards him. Her arms wrapped around him, and they remained intertwined until finally Kisara pulled away. Leading Seto towards the bed (the only piece of furniture in the room), Kisara smiled back at him.

"I am just so glad that you're okay." Seto nodded, and as they sat down he was only barely able to focus on their conversation, instead losing himself in the deep blue of her eyes and the pale sheen of her white hair. He didn't know how long they talked, but they didn't finish until Kisara fell asleep on his shoulder. Seto gently picked her up bridal style, placing her fully on the bed, smoothing out her hair before tenderly placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. Settling himself on the edge of the bed, he relaxed. For the first time in five thousand years, he felt completely at peace.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please review if you have any questions or comments or, if you are not comfortable with that, send a PM! If I get a notification, either my sister or I sign on to look. :D Hope everyone has a great day and a wonderful year so far!**


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Another chapter! Like I said, things are picking up slightly more. Hopefully if there were any surprises, they were good ones! I try to foreshadow everything, but sometimes it is more in my head than on paper. Still, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four:**

 _The boy kept his face carefully neutral as he listened to Mahad enthuse about his most recent summons to talk to 'Lord Ra'. After hearing his Father's words, the boy knew he would need to act as though nothing was wrong, no matter how hard it was to hear his friend talk about the false god. Mana, sitting nearby, rolled her eyes._

" _Okay, that's enough Master Mahad! I was there too, and I can assure you that there are thousands of more interesting things we could be doing right now than discussing the new spells he was showing you."_

 _Mahad turned red. "Mana!" he began, reprimandingly, but was quickly interrupted._

" _Yeah yeah. Mind my tongue and what not." Mana commented, rolling her eyes. Despite himself, the boy grinned. He knew Mana had likely heard that same lecture multiple times, and not just from Mahad. He blinked, however, when said magician suddenly turned her attention towards him._

" _And what about you, Prince? You've been really quiet all morning."_

 _Blushing the boy shrugged. Although he was worried about what he had overheard nearly a month ago, the chance to spend time with his friends made up for that. Mahad's eyes turned towards him as well, curious. "Mana is right, my Prince. Is everything all right? You're not sick, are you?"_

 _The boy hesitated, torn between not voicing his father's plans and informing his friends of the upcoming trouble. Before he could respond, however, the boy was interrupted by the sound of footsteps entering the garden. Turning, he acknowledged the guard's presence._

" _Is there news from my Father?" he asked, curious as to why the guard would interrupt them._

" _Excuse me, Prince. Your Father wishes your presence as well as that of master Mahad in Court."_

 _Blinking, Mahad frowned. "Court? I was unaware that we were meeting today."_

 _Nodding, the guard turned to escort them. "It is apparently an emergency meeting. That is all I was informed to tell you."_

 _The boy fell into line behind Mahad, glancing over his shoulder and managing a small smile and wave for Mana. He didn't want her to worry…_

 _As they entered the throne room, the boy immediately moved to his father's side. Turning, he glanced around at the various court members. Much to his surprise, all of the guardians in training were also present, including Shada, Isis, and Karim. A sinking feeling suddenly came over him, and he knew what was about to happen._

 _His Father glanced around, nodding once he saw that everyone was there. "As you know, my son will come of age in a few weeks. Unfortunately, this is not the occasion for celebration I had hoped it would be."_

 _The boy noticed quite a few raised eyebrows as his Father continued. "Since my son was only four seasons old, "Lord Ra" has demanded that I sacrifice my only child to be a vessel for the "gods". I was able to hold him off until now, however when my son comes of age he will have no reason to hold back. My son would be able to take the throne should… anything happen to me."_

 _The boy shifted uncomfortably, disliking his father's implication. Judging by the murmuring amongst the Court members, they were also uncomfortable. Auset, the elderly priestess of the Millennium Necklace, spoke._

" _Surely one of the Gods would never do such a thing…" she commented, one hand moving to her Item even as a worried look crossed her face._

 _Akhenaden stepped forward, shaking his head. "I was there when "Lord Ra" demanded my nephew as price for keeping this country and its people safe. Not long after that, he granted us the Millennium Items."_

 _Nodding, the boy's father spoke once more. "It has taken us a few moons, but we have finally contacted the groups rebelling against the false gods. We are meeting today because the false gods have gone to join the fight against the northern rebels; including 'Lord Ra'. This meeting was called the minute he left. Tomorrow, we will declare war against the false gods and drive them away from our world. I would like to hear your thoughts. If any of you do not wish to participate, I will understand. However, you will be asked to leave the planning sessions."_

 _The Guardians looked at each other, and the boy also watched their expressions. They ranged from disbelief to resolution. Finally, Seto spoke._

" _We will follow you, my Pharaoh. Even against Lord Ra." The High Priest stood tall, and his confidence seemed to spread among the Guardians until each was discussing plans of attack and defense. The boy felt a wave of relief and pride. Together, with his Father's leadership, he was certain that they could defeat the false gods._

* * *

Yami sat up abruptly as a second knock sounded. Blinking, he realized that he must have fallen asleep while waiting for Mahad to arrive. He hurriedly moved over to the door, biting back a yelp as he kicked something hard. When he opened the door, Mahad blinked at his disheveled appearance.

"Ummm… Excuse me, I can return tomorrow." He began, but Yami shook his head, interrupting.

"No, it's just jet lag. Please come in." Moving aside so Mahad could enter, Yami managed to bite back a yawn. The jet lag was worse than he remembered from his first trip to America, but he supposed he hadn't been crossing time zones so frequently before that trip.

"Sorry Mahad. I must have dozed off after dinner." Yami managed a slight grin before remembering what he had wanted to talk to Mahad about. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how to bring up the subject now that his friend was here.

"Ahhh… Mahad, what exactly happened with Marik? Seto won't tell me and kept avoiding the subject when I tried to bring it up on the plane back." he finally asked, scrambling slightly for a different topic.

Mahad shifted uncomfortably. "Well… Seto would kill me if he found out I was telling you this…"

Yami blinked, about to tell Mahad that he didn't want his friend to tell him if it would get him in trouble when the other man continued speaking.

"Somehow you were able to tap into the power of the Millennium Puzzle. The wielders of the Millennium items are granted the ability to use a power known as Shadow Magic. You were able to summon… summon a shadow creature from the shadow realm to protect you."

Yami blinked, hazy images appearing in his mind and vanishing just as quickly. "So I used… magic?" he asked, voice doubtful despite his best efforts to control it.

Mahad nodded. "Yes, and I believe that we should be able to teach you how to control your power and complete a summons without using too much of your ba."

Yami listened with wonder, excited by the prospect even if he understood little of what Mahad was saying. Finally, though, the opening came for his true question and, with some hesitance, he took it.

"…Mahad, there was something else I wanted to know. The real reason I asked you here is because of…" Yami steeled himself, taking a deep breath. "I've been having these dreams recently. The thing is, they're not like normal dreams; it's as though I'm seeing… I don't know, a story of someone else's life, only I am the person. I feel what they do, know what they know, and all of it seems familiar. You're in it, as are Mana, Seto, and the rest the Court. I just… I don't know what I was expecting to happen if I told you… I guess I thought you might be able to explain it to me."

Glancing up, Yami blinked in confusion. Mahad was staring at him, skin paler than usual with a look on his face that was a cross between hopeful and an expression of someone seeing a ghost.

Silence reined before Mahad finally managed to pull himself together. Swallowing, the mage spoke, "Can you tell me about one of them?"

Yami nodded, giving Mahad the details of the most recent dream. If anything, Mahad looked almost worse than he had before, slowly sinking onto Yami's bed. After a few minutes of silence, Yami finally spoke again. "Are you okay, Mahad?"

Mahad slowly nodded. "…Yami… Would it be okay if I were to discuss this with the others before telling you what… what I think about these dreams?"

Nodding once again, Yami stood up, seeing the other to the door. As soon as Mahad had gone, he flopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Addressing the bare wall above him, Yami commented dryly, "Well… That wasn't quite the response I'd hoped for…" With a sigh he rolled back over. Sleep came quickly, despite the nervous energy still coursing through him.

* * *

Seto shot up as he heard a sudden commotion outside of his door. Glancing down at Kisara, he was relieved to see that his sudden motion hadn't woken her up. Gently extracting himself from being her impromptu pillow, he headed for the door, murderous thoughts foremost in his mind. Those faded away, however, when he saw the scene outside.

Mahad was babbling excitedly to the few members of the Court who had emerged from their rooms, none of whom were able to understand him due to the speed at which the mage was speaking. Seto interrupted after a few minutes of silent enjoyment at the sight of Mahad making a fool out of himself.

"No one can understand you, Mahad, unless you slow down and start over." He commented coldly, a swell of pride rising up in him as the mage gulped, apparently having missed Seto's entrance. He soon recovered, and began talking in a slower manner, although his excitement was still evident.

"It's the Pharaoh… I mean Yami. He's our Pharaoh… I don't know how Osiris allowed our king to leave the afterlife and be reborn, but he is too similar to our king for it to be a coincidence. He is also starting to remember the past. He was telling me about his dreams, and I am certain that they are visions of the past, much like Isis is able to see using the Millennium Necklace."

Mahad continued speaking, however Seto tuned him out to watch the expressions of those around him. They ranged from discomfort to incredulity and almost every expression in between. Finally, when Mahad stopped to gasp for air, Seto interrupted.

"Kisara is also certain that he is the Pharaoh reborn." Seto stated bluntly, eyes daring anyone to question her word.

Silence fell over the group before Isis spoke. "This complicates things, Seto. If he is our Pharaoh reborn, then things have changed. We must protect him, especially if any of the false gods discovers who he is."

Nodding, Seto turned back towards Mahad, who was staring at him with a fish eyed look. "What else did you tell him, Mahad?" he demanded, certain that the magician had let something leak.

"I… he asked about Marik and I told him about Shadow Magic, but… I don't understand… How did you know he was… and you didn't tell us?" Mahad's voice turned accusing, and more pairs of eyes then his met Seto's.

Frowning, Seto shrugged. "I had no proof, and Kisara only just told me." Keeping his face straight despite the outright lie, he shot Mahad a glare. "Besides… we had agreed not to mention that he could use Shadow Magic to him."

Surprisingly, Mahad glared back. "Well, I think he deserves to learn how to protect himself." The mage's eyes continued to meet Seto's until the mage turned, stalking off towards his quarters. Inwardly, Seto raised his eyebrows. So… Mahad had grown a backbone. Then again, matters dealing with the Pharaoh had generally caused the usually meek mage to turn to steel.

Looking around at the rest of the group, Seto mentally sighed. There was no chance of keeping this to themselves… Knowing Mana, everyone would know within the day.

Turning, Seto started back for his room. Well, he should probably be the one to tell Yami. Anyone else and it would probably be unintelligible. Besides, he told himself, a very small part of him wanted to be there when he told the boy to see if there were any signs of recognition.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review with your thoughts. It means a lot! Thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Another chapter. :D Hope everyone enjoys! Author's note is at the bottom, since I wanted to mention something but it would spoil what you're about to read. ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five:**

 _The halls of the Palace practically rang with silence. The boy wandered through the empty corridors, footsteps sounding too loud against the silence. All of the inhabitants had either gone to the northern borders to attack the flank of the false gods' forces or remained behind to direct the overall strategy of the Egyptian forces._

 _A maid hurried by, bowing in the boy's direction as she continued on her way. Turning around the corner he slipped into the war room, which had only recently been dusted off for use. Inside was a chaotic mess when compared to the stillness outside. Blinking, he looked around._

 _Boredom had finally driven him here. Mana was busy; being Mahad's student gave her added responsibilities, especially in wartime although the boy had to admit that he was glad she hadn't been sent to the front. Her activities, however, had left him without anyone to talk to._

 _He hastily dodged an advisor who ran by carrying a massive handful of documents, continuing to make his way forward. Seto and Mahad had both joined his Father on the front lines along with Akhenaden, Shada, and Karim. Shimon, Isis, and Auset remained behind as strategists._

 _As he finally arrived at the strategy table, he hesitated. Isis was sitting at the table, the Millennium Necklace around her neck as she concentrated, trying to see the future._

" _Where's Auset?" he asked, frowning as he moved up beside her._

" _Lady Auset is feeling poorly this morning. I will be using the Millennium Necklace in her place." Isis replied, before opening her eyes. "As for you, my Prince, I believe you were asked not to come here."_

 _Sighing the boy responded, "There's no one to talk to. The entire Palace is empty. Please do not make me leave…" he trailed off, trying hard not to plead._

 _Isis watched him before also letting out a sigh. "Very well, however if Master Shimon asks you to leave I expect you to obey him."_

 _He nodded, hastily moving out of Shimon's way as the older priest joined them at the table. The Millennium Key was missing, and the boy supposed that he had passed it along to his successor, Shada, before the fighting._

 _Soon, the group around the table began to discuss the movements of the troops, using models to signify both Khemet's armies as well as those of the false gods._

 _Listening in, the boy stared at the table in front of him, reminded of the games he would play with Seto; a small smile crossing his face at the memory. Suddenly, an argument broke out between two of the generals._

" _If we move forward, we leave the flank open to attack!" one of them stated, glaring across the table._

" _No, the troops can withdraw after they attack the enemy, covering their retreat." The other retorted angrily._

 _The boy, along with the others at the table, listened to the argument as it began to escalate. Biting his lip, he glanced at the table again, frowning down at the layout before hesitantly speaking up, silence falling as he began to talk._

" _If you simply move the troops forward to attack, then the enemy can immediately flank using this troop. They've left it purposefully where it is to allow for such a maneuver, expecting us to see a target and attempt to attack. Likely, they have a means of quickly getting behind us."_

 _The second general looked smugly over at his peer, however the smile vanished as the boy kept speaking. "However, if you move this troop over slightly, as though flanking the other cohort nearby, they can then sweep in when the enemy flanks, trapping them between two groups and forcing them to fight on two lines of scrimmage. After finishing off the enemy flanking them, both groups can then quickly attack the original target and retreat back to our line of defense for reinforcements."_

 _The room was silent, all of the generals staring at him, and the boy shifted uncomfortably. Finally, talking broke out as each person began to discuss what he'd said. The boy glanced over at Isis apologetically, wondering if she would get in trouble for allowing him to stay. Suddenly, the sudden silence around the table caught his attention again, and he slowly looked back find the eyes of the entire table on him once more._

" _Well, my Prince, what do you think of the remainder of the strategy we've discussed so far." Shimon commented, watching him with a bland expression. The boy gulped silently, wondering how much trouble he was in for, although for as long as he'd known Shimon his tutor had never tried to embarrass him for his mistakes._

" _Well… I think most of it is sound, except I would have Seto lead the smaller back-up forces during the main assault. He is a good strategist, and works well with few directions, not to mention the fact that he will react quickly to any surprises the enemy might have."_

 _Silence followed, before Shimon suddenly smiled. "My Prince, I think I speak on behalf of all of us here when I say that your presence during meetings would be a great asset." Eyes widening, the boy nodded._

 _Talk began again, and the boy felt a thrill of excitement. Finally, he could feel useful._

Yami yawned tiredly, rolling out of the bed. Jet lag reminded him once again how much he hated travelling. Since they were not going through the Star Gate that day, he supposed he had been allowed to sleep in. Yawning again, he got dressed and headed for the door. Upon opening it, however, he blinked in surprise, feeling no traces of sleep left. Seto was leaning against the wall across from his door, watching him calmly.

"Seto…" he stated finally, wondering why the other was waiting for him. Sure, Seto had begun to open up, but last Yami knew they weren't at the point where Seto would actually stoop to waiting for him to get up.

"Yami." Was the blunt reply as Seto pushed himself off of the wall, drawing himself to his full height as he stared down at the smaller boy.

Rubbing his eyes slightly to remove the last traces of sleep, Yami began to head for the mess hall, deciding that whatever Seto wanted he would probably say it in his own time. That time was apparently after breakfast, as Yami ate in silence with occasional glances at his unlikely companion. It wasn't until he had finished that Seto spoke.

"I have things I wish to discuss with you. You will follow me to a place where we can talk in private." Seto stated, already walking off. Yami hastily followed, dropping off his tray as he practically raced after Seto. The other man's steps were quick and purposeful, and Yami couldn't help but feel as though the speed was due in part to excitement, although why he couldn't say. Certainly Seto hadn't done anything to make him think so.

Seto led him through the corridors until finally leading Yami into an empty room. Turning, he smirked.

"I heard Mahad told you about Shadow Magic yesterday." Before Yami could even respond, shadows suddenly swirled up around them and suddenly they were in a realm of shifting purple shadows, with little visible beyond their immediate vicinity.

"Welcome to the shadow realm." Seto smirked, continuing to watch Yami's expression. "Here we can talk without being overheard."

Yami stared around him, momentarily speechless. "You brought us here!?" he demanded, feeling stunned. He had seen this realm once before, however the circumstances surrounding his first visit had been… Uncomfortable to say the least.

Seto shrugged, obviously either not noticing or caring about Yami's discomfort. "It is a place where all who can use shadow magic can summon. Besides, I did not want our conversation to be overheard."

Pursing his lips slightly, Yami slowly turned back towards his companion, fighting his unease. "Very well… What do you have to say?" he asked, wondering if he should have really followed Seto after all…

"Mahad came back to inform us of what you told him last night. Both what he told you as well as what Kisara claims both seem to support the fact that, in a previous life, you were our Pharaoh. I do not know how you were reborn into this time, however the dreams you described to the idiotic mage were actual events which each of us can remember."

Yami stared, briefly wondering if this was a joke before dismissing the idea. Seto wasn't the type to joke, especially not about something as important to him as this. "So, you're trying to say that I was your… king five-thousand years ago?" he asked, more for clarification than to make light of what Seto was saying. A part of him knew he should be at least disbelieving, if not convinced that Seto was crazy. However, that had been before he had walked through a gate that had taken him into the stars to other worlds, before Pegasus had challenged him over the puzzle…

Nodding, Seto watched him quietly, almost discerningly, as though looking for some sort of sign. Yami glanced away after a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts.

"I don't understand… Osiris is the keeper of the Afterlife. Why would he allow a soul to be reborn?" Yami asked finally, looking up.

"The soul of our Pharaoh was never sent to the Afterlife, for he was not truly killed… Instead he sealed himself away, as well as shadow magic, that the power might no longer be used to harm the people of Khemet." Seto responded, not hesitating.

Although he had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't being told everything, Yami let the matter drop. Looking around him, he changed the subject.

"You said that any shadow mage could summon the shadow realm, so what exactly does it do? I saw Pegasus use it to increase the stakes of our match, but how does it work?"

Smirking, Seto replied, "The shadow realm is a place where shadow creatures known as Kas, your 'Duel Monsters', stay. They can be summoned from this realm into the world by sacrificing ba. Once in the shadow realm, games can be played for power with the stakes going to almost unimaginable levels."

"Mahad said I could learn." Yami stated, not even bothering to actually ask the question.

Nodding, Seto turned, "If you want, I can begin to teach you how to control your power. When you summoned a shadow creature while facing Marik you did so without fully controlling your ba, hence the reason why you fainted afterwards."

Yami smiled. "I want to learn." He stated firmly. "I want to be able to protect myself as well as my friends."

"Well then, we should get started." Seto commented, smirking once again. "Are you ready, Pharaoh?" Yami didn't even realize what Seto had called him until later, instead responding as easily as though he had been called the title his whole life.

"Of course."

Jack made a face, peering around the room. "Seriously, Daniel? You really need to clean up."

Said person sighed, continuing to peer through a book. "I'll get to it, Jack. Besides, this is organized! I can find things when I need to…" He trailed off, frowning before setting down the book and reaching for another.

"Yeah… That's why we've spent the whole day looking for the one book you need." Jack responded, letting out a groan. "It's not even in English, so I don't see why the rest of us are here."

Carter glanced up. "Because, Sir, what Daniel remembers the book containing might be important. Apparently it was buried near the Star Gate, but no one remembers exactly where or why. Apparently one of the leaders after the goa'uld were driven out wrote a manuscript about the events, although most of the book had been destroyed by the time it was uncovered. It could contain valuable information."

"Aha!" Daniel suddenly cried, interrupting Jack's response. Standing, he blew dust off the book in a large cloud, brushing at the rest. "This is, of course, a copy of the original but hopefully it was translated accurately."

Opening the book, he skimmed forward before beginning to read. "…In the suns before the final battle to drive out the false gods and their followers, preparations were made. With much speed, messengers of the God on Earth were dispatched to find strong spirits and criminals, all of whom were brought to the Palace. One was of note: a girl dressed in rags with skin as of the moon, young but with the hair of an elder appeared with a strong ka. She was granted hospitality of the Palace, and her spirit burned brightly in the skies during the battle…"

"Uhhhh… So?" Jack finally commented as Daniel finished, looking around him. "They wax poetically about a girl. Wouldn't you, if you thought you were going to die? Honestly, even an old crone would probably look heavenly."

"Jack, listen to the description: 'a girl dressed in rags with skin as of the moon, young but with the hair of an elder…' Who does that remind you of?"

Jack blinked, frowning. "So, a girl dressed in rags with cratered skin?" he began before Daniel shook his head impatiently.

"Come on! It's obvious; a girl with white skin and white hair appeared. Pale skin like ours would have been surprising for anyone in Egypt, as the people who were living in what we now call Europe didn't often trade with them. It would have been something to note, but that's not what I meant… Jack, our goa'uld were around at that time. The girl who appeared the other day knows one of our goa'uld…"

Eyes widening, Carter broke in, "You're trying to say that she ascended fighting the goa'uld on Earth." she stated, slowly leaning back. Daniel nodded.

"It seems likely… I mean, how much of a coincidence are we willing to believe in?"

Jack frowned. "Hey Daniel, what does it say about how they defeated the goa'uld?" he demanded, curious despite himself. "I mean, if we knew how they were defeated the first time we could use that threat of that weapon to keep them from attacking us, problem solved."

"Unfortunately, the entire end of the scroll was destroyed… Bits and pieces were translated, but nothing legible besides a few words: 'demon', 'sun', 'Ra', and 'sorrow'. This was one of the passages that was the most preserved, and as you can see there was only a few lines."

Before he could respond, a knock was heard at the door. "Colonel O'Neil? General Hammond would like to see you and your team in his office as soon as possible."

Teal'c stood, finally speaking. "Why would General Hammond wish to see us? There are no alarms."

"Yeah, well let's go see then." Jack propelled himself out of the chair, soon leading the way to Hammond's office. After receiving permission to enter, he walked in and saluted.

"General."

"At ease, Colonel." Hammond replied. "I want you to come over here and take a look at this."

He motioned to something on the screen in front of him, and Jack moved over to get a closer look, Carter following. On the screen, a giant purplish mass of writhing _something_ loomed, blocking the entire view. After a few moments, he blinked.

"Well, I would have to say that either someone made way too much jello, or I'll need a little more information." He managed.

"One of the goa'uld, Seto, led Yami into the room. We had them on camera until he mentioned something about shadow magic and suddenly they were covered with this… whatever it is."

"They mentioned that they had magic to us, however I can only assume this is an example of it…" Jack trailed off with a frown. "Do we really trust him alone with Yami? I mean, he might go all snaky on the kid or something."

The group exchanged glances before Carter sighed. "If Yami trusted him enough to follow him into an empty room, I suppose we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a smart kid, Sir. Besides, I doubt Seto would want to jeopardize the alliance yet… Hopefully…" she added.

Hopefully is right. Jack thought. From the looks of things, they were going to need all the hope they could get.

* * *

 **So, hope you enjoyed it! Just wanted to explain why Atem was able to help with the strategy and was allowed to stay. Firstly, he does have a good grasp of strategy as it pertains to games, and as he mentions he plays Seto in strategy games all of the time. Secondly, as heir to the throne, he would have been taught strategy as well as whatever else he might need to one day step up and rule the kingdom. That was sort of my thought process behind everything. And anyone who catches the reference to the purple people eater gets a cookie! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Hello everyone! I had exams, but they're over now (except for waiting to see if I am kicked out of school based on the results;)) so I am posting another chapter! Thank you to everyone who has started reading this since I started posting it! Looking at the readership (is that even a word?) is really inspiring! I finished the prologue for the sequel, so whenever I finish posting this story I will also try to post the prologue of part 2 to give a teaser for what happens next! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six:**

Seto smirked as Yami stood in front of him, face twisted in concentration. They had spent the past few hours working on the boy's control of shadow magic and while he had yet to summon anything he had come a long way from when they'd started, picking it up with a speed that would have surprised Seto had he not known he was the Pharaoh reborn. The Pharaoh's memories must be coming back, if only subconsciously.

With a slight gasp, Yami slumped down, exhaustion briefly crossing his face. "Too tired?" Seto taunted, eyeing his king. The boy immediately drew himself back up, frowning at Seto.

"No." he replied, and Seto nodded. Soon he could feel Yami gathering shadow magic again, the Millennium Puzzle glowing in the darkness of the shadow realm. Suddenly, there was a pop and Seto blinked, paying more attention.

Yami's eyes were wide as he stared at the brown ball of fur in front of him. "Kuriboh?" he managed, staring.

Rolling his eyes, Seto mentally cursed his luck. "Well, looks like you summoned something completely useless." He stated, not impressed with Kuriboh. The shadow creature made an annoyed noise, looking ready to attack him, and Yami burst out laughing.

"Looks like Kuriboh believes otherwise," He stated, grinning, "and I believe him. Kuriboh is not as weak as you think." The smile widened as Kuriboh rubbed against him, before he glanced back at Seto, eyes challenging. "I told you I would do it." He commented smugly.

"Yes, yes… Now dismiss it." Seto stated, arms folded as he impassively returned the look.

A few moments later, Kuriboh disappeared and Yami suddenly sank forward, weariness overcoming him as the shadows demanded the price for the summoning. _Not bad…_ Seto thought to himself. Yami had at least summoned something, although quite a bit of shadow magic had been wasted in the attempt, not to mention the actual summoning. Control was definitely something they would need to work on.

Dismissing the shadow realm, he nodded at Yami. "That's all for today."

"I can keep going." Came the stubborn response, and Seto rolled his eyes. "The shadow realm takes those who are too weak. Unless you want to lose your soul, we are stopping now."

Eyes widening, Yami reluctantly nodded. Following Seto through the door, he was quiet for so long Seto was starting to wonder if he should check on the boy before he suddenly spoke.

"Thank you, Seto. For teaching me." He stated softly, hesitantly smiling over at the goa'uld who managed not to blink.

"Whatever… I cannot just let you get yourself killed, can I? You are the only person whose skills at strategy are even close to my own. Senet would be boring against any other opponent." He replied, purposefully choosing an impersonal excuse.

Yami merely smiled at him. "Of course… Well, whatever your reasons are, thank you." Turning, he started off towards his room and Seto watched him disappear around the corner. He pivoted, heading towards his rooms only to almost bump into Kisara who was headed for him. He blinked in surprise, looking down at her with a small smile.

"I was going to find you. How did you know I was finished?" he asked, quietly wrapping her in a hug which she eagerly returned.

"Some of the bond between you and the white dragon remains… I could tell you were finished using shadow magic." She stated, smiling up at him. "So… How did it go?"

Seto sighed. "Frustrating. He remembers, but doesn't. It is as though subconsciously he is the king I knew but there is no trace of it when we talk. He doesn't remember me… Not that I thought he would, it is just that…"

Nodding understandingly, Kisara smiled sadly up at him. "Give it time. He is already regaining his memories, is he not? Perhaps he will begin to remember." Seto eyed her.

"Do you know, or are you merely saying what you think I want to hear?" he asked, honestly wanting to know.

The pale girl hesitated, "I can't tell you Seto. I want to, but you have to find out for yourself." He nodded, switching the topic immediately to one both were more comfortable with, and the two quietly made their way down the hall towards Seto's room.

Jack sighed, leaning back from the screen upon seeing both Yami and Seto appear, the strange purplish substance vanishing as quickly as it had apparently appeared.

"Well, he looks okay, although what could they have been doing to get Yami so tired? I mean, the room doesn't have any exercise equipment and that purple people eater didn't look too bad."

"You mean, besides the fact that it looked more like fog?" Daniel asked, frowning as he leaned forward. "There's definitely nothing like that on Earth, which means either it is caused by their magic or it's some off planet device. Maybe the fog has properties which tax humans more than goa'uld?" he suggested

General Hammond glanced from one member of the SG team to another. "We can't exactly confront them about this… They've done nothing wrong after all." Carter nodded.

"Maybe I can ask Dad about it. If it is goa'uld technology, he or Selmac should have seen or heard of it."

Nodding, General Hammond promptly dismissed them, and Jack meandered down the corridor before being pulled to the side by Teal'c.

"O'Neil, I have something I wish to speak to you about."

"Sure, what's gotten under your skin, Teal'c?" Jack asked, and the Jaffa frowned.

"I am not a host to a goa'uld, if you are worried about that, O'Neil." Sighing, Jack shook his head.

"It's a figure of speech, Teal'c. It means 'What's bothering you.'"

"I see." Teal'c stated before continuing. "Did you not notice the changed behavior by Seto towards Yami? Whereas before he was indifferent, if not hostile, now he seems to be more… interested in the boy. I would go as far to say that he was mentoring him, as Bra'tac did for me. This is a most unusual change of events."

Jack's eyebrows rose, and he stared at Teal'c. While he might have doubted anyone else, Teal'c had proven himself to be very observant. Still, Seto, out of all the goa'uld, deciding to teach anything to Yami was almost outside the realm of belief.

"Are you sure? Cause, I mean, that is a rather sudden turn around." He managed, and Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed. However, I am sure."

"Well… Let's just keep an eye on the situation for now. Tomorrow we're all going through the Star Gate again, so we can keep an eye on both of them. I'll ask Carter if Jacob's interested in joining us. If so, that'll be another set of eyes. Besides, last time only two goa'uld came through. What could possibly make them any more excited to go?"

Even as he said it, Jack winced. Famous last words all right… He'd just tempted fate, and for SG-1 it tended to deliver.

Yami had begun heading towards his rooms; however, he had changed his mind mid-way there. What with the remnants of jet lag, sleeping now would only keep him from adjusting to the time change. He hesitated slightly before deciding to go in search of Mahad, and possibly Mana.

As he wound his way through the halls, avoiding military personnel, Yami winced slightly. A small headache pounded in the back of his head. While he could ignore it, the headache was an annoyance which made it hard to focus.

Rounding another corner, he almost ran into yet another soldier and had to hastily flatten himself against the wall. Pausing slightly, he began moving again towards the rooms belonging to the goa'uld. Although he was uncertain as to exactly where they were, Yami figured that if he got too lost he could always ask someone. Until then, he headed in what he thought was the right direction and was finally rewarded by the sight of armed guards standing at the entrance to a corridor.

Nodding at them, he walked past confidently. If he acted as though he was supposed to be there, he hoped that they would not stop him. Besides, the goa'uld were allies, not prisoners, therefore the guards were likely for their safety, not just to keep them separate. Apparently they either had no orders to stop visitors or assumed he was supposed to be there as he wasn't stopped.

Moving through the hall, he peered from door to door, trying to decide which one to knock on. Mahad, Mana, and Seto were the only members of the group he really knew; the others were unknown, unless he counted his dreams.

Finally, he decided to knock on the door at the end of the hall, tensely waiting for an answer. When the door opened, Yami mentally winced. So much for luck he supposed… Maybe it only worked in games. The woman raised an eyebrow as he managed a small smile.

"Excuse me… I was looking for…"

"Mahad. He is two doors down." The woman stated, eyes never leaving his face as she watched him, and much like with Seto he got the feeling she was looking for something.

"Ahh… Thank you." He managed, smiling again before moving to the indicated door. As he walked away, he suddenly realized that she had known who he had wanted before he had even asked.

Glancing over his shoulder, Yami was met only with a closed door. He turned back, knocking on what he sincerely hoped was the correct door this time. His knock was soon met by the familiar face of his friend, and Yami smiled in relief.

"Mahad! I was beginning to think I was not going to be able to find you…" he stated, relief coloring his voice.

Blinking, the man replied, "Pharaoh? What are you doing here? Mana and I went looking for you earlier but we could not seem to locate you."

"Seto wanted to talk to me." Yami replied, and Mahad sighed.

"That does sound like Seto." he noted.

Smiling, Yami motioned towards the exit into the rest of the compound. "Want to get dinner? We can see if Mana is interested as well."

Mahad nodded, and soon the two were knocking on another door, this one closer to the entrance. The door was immediately flung open and if Yami hadn't gotten a slight warning from Mahad's sudden pull back he would have been hit hard by the swinging metal.

"Prince!" Mana cried, delightedly leaping forward and wrapping her arms around him. Yami laughed, almost automatically moving to catch her.

"Mana! You might want to watch the door next time!" he commented around his laughter.

The girl merely grinned up at him. "I'm just really happy to see you!" Her smile suddenly turned into a frown. "Where were you earlier? Master Mahad and I went to look for you but we couldn't find you."

"I was talking with Seto." Yami replied, "Mahad and I wanted to see if you would like to join us for dinner."

"Of course!" Mana exclaimed, releasing Yami and starting to bounce down the hallway. Yami and Mahad both fell in behind her, and Yami found himself able to ignore the ache at the back of his skull as he smiled at his friends.

* * *

 **Thanks again for reading, and please leave a review with your thoughts! Hope everyone has a nice spring (unless you're in the midwest US where apparently it has decided to go back to winter, in which case best of luck!)! :D**


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